LIBRARY OF COXGRESS. S 



±£/X. 



v yij 



r <?«/iyiy/U ±J& 



J UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.! 



|iD^^^%^.».^-%. 



►^-%-Ql 



The Invisibles: 



AN 



EXPLANATION OF PHENOMENA 



COMMONLY CALLED 



SPIKITUAL. 

v ' jit' i- f^\J 






PHILADELPHIA 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

18 67. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Preface '. 5 

CHAPTER I. 
Narrative of the Author's Experience 7 

CHAPTER II. 

Explanation of Author's Experience, given by In- 
habitants of Another World 106 

CHAPTER III. 

Origin of Species in our World, and Birth of the 

Human Species into Another 148 

CHAPTER IV. 

Explanations of Phenomena commonly called Spir- 
itual 171 

CHAPTER V. 

Review of other Narratives 197 

3 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/invisiblesexplanOOwill 



PREFACE. 



Spiritualism, or the doctrine designated by that title, has 
been prominently before the public for the past fifteen years, or 
more, during which time it has attracted much attention, and 
has gained thousands of converts from all classes, the educated 
and uneducated, Christians and unbelievers in Christianity. 

It is a fact, admitted even by many Spiritualists, that very 
little — beyond the important truth that we continue to exist after 
the death of the present body, and that those who have departed 
into another world can still communicate with us — has been 
learned or demonstrated by this intercourse with the other world 
— or what is believed to be such. Not even the laws governing 
the intercourse have been fully or rationally explained ; and most 
of the communications purporting to come from the other world, 
are false, as well as illiterate and unmeaning. 

The silliness of the communications, and the trifling character 
of other phenomena — performed usually under a table, or in a 
darkened room — have induced many — probably a majority of the 
most intelligent — who have investigated the subject, to come to 
the conclusion that what are called "disembodied spirits" can 
have no agency in the matter ; although it is now generally con^ 
ceded that all other explanations which have been given are 
unsatisfactory. 

To explain the laws governing this intercourse, and the several 
phenomena commonly called spiritual, or supernatural, and thus 
to show why it is that the communications, and the performances 
in the presence of "mediums," are of so silly and trifling a 
nature, and why so little has been learned by the intercourse, is 
the main object of this work. 

1*. 5 



6 PREFACE. 

Extraordinary and improbable as the contents of the volume 
may seem to those not previously convinced of the ultramundane 
nature of the phenomena described, the writer would ask the 
reader to lay aside all prejudices, or pre-conceived notions as to 
the other world and our future condition, so far as he is aware that 
they are merely the effects of education, or association, and are 
unsupported by any known facts ; and to weigh the theories set 
forth, with an unbiassed mind, precisely as he would those 
relating to any other subject. 

And the writer would especially ask the literary reader, who is 
competent to discriminate between a narrative of facts and a 
work of fiction, to consider whether it is probable, or even possi- 
ble, that this work can be entirely the product of the writer's 
own brain. 

The word "spirit" is not used in the work, because there is no 
more propriety in applying it to those of the other world than to 
the men and women of our own. Webster's definition of the 
word is, "Literally, breath; hence an immaterial intelligent 
being, as the soul of man, &c." The definition is somewhat 
vague, but as the inhabitants of the other world have bodies 
composed of the same matter, and as substantial as our own, the 
word, if used, would convey a false idea to the mind of the 
reader. 

The words "death" and "died" are retained, as every one 
understands that what is meant by the use of them when applied 
to a human being, is simply the death of the present body. The 
expression "Left the form" which Spiritualists have substituted, 
has no meaning whatever as applied to the phenomenon. 

The initials of individuals, given in the work, are, for obvious 
reasons, mostly fictitious. 

New York, March, 1867. 



The Invisibles. 



CHAPTER I. 

NARRATIVE OF THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE. 

My first visit to a "spiritual medium" — or to a person 
that pretended to be such — was made about thirteen 
years ago, when visiting New York. Passing along 
Broadway one evening, I noticed an illuminated sign, 
indicating that spiritual seances were held in an upper 
room of the building. Paying twenty-jive cents for ad- 
mittance, I entered the room, and saw a girl about 
fifteen years of age, sitting at a small table, which she 
was tipping to and from her; while a sedate, clerical- 
looking gentleman, was sitting at the opposite side of 
the table, writing questions, in the gravest manner possi- 
ble. Three tips, as I understood, were an affirmative 
reply; and one tip, a negative. 

I inferred from the gentleman's remarks, that the 
answers were — as might be expected — correct about as 
often as erroneous; in the latter case, the mother of the 
girl, who was present, would tell the gentleman that the 
answer was from a "lying spirit" which seemed to me 
quite probable. 



8 THE INVISIBLES. 

After witnessing the gentleman's " investigations" about 
five minutes, I left, not caring to wait for my turn. The 
impression I then had, I am still satisfied was the cor- 
rect one; namely, that a girl tipping the table in the 
ordinary way, was all there was of the "phenomena." 

Some three or four years later — now residing in New 
York — I was invited to accompany a party of acquaint- 
ances, to a seance with a celebrated medium — one of the 
well-known Fox family. 

At this time I had heard little about spiritualism, 
except in the way of ridicule. I was convinced, how- 
ever, so large a number of intelligent persons as believed 
in it, could not be entirely deceived; that it was not all 
jugglery; but I thought it probable — as is usual in such 
cases — that more or less of trickery was mingled with 
physical phenomena, not yet understood. As to disem- 
bodied spirits having any connection with the pheno- 
mena, I had seen no reason for such a belief. 

This first seance did not change my opinion. That 
some of the manifestations were not jugglery, was per- 
fectly evident; but as to others — those which I had not 
so good an opportunity of examining — I was far from 
being satisfied. They were altogether too astounding 
upon any other hypothesis than that of jugglery. Be- 
sides, I had — or thought I had — cause for suspicion. 
Part of the manifestations were touches — always under 
the table — by what were stated to be "spirit hands." 
When I was touched, I hastily put my own hand under 
the table, and felt what purported to be the spirit hand. 
It was a bare touch that I obtained, as the pretended 
hand was instantly Avithdrawn; but that momentary 
touch showed me that it was nothing like a hand ; there 



author's narrative. 9 

were no fingers at all; it felt more like a foot covered 
with a stocking, than a hand; and although it did not 
feel precisely like the first, I suspected it was the medi- 
um's foot; as she had changed her seat, taking one 
directly opposite me before I felt these touches. 

I subsequently visited this medium several times — 
sometimes with the same party — once alone, there being 
no person in the room but the medium and myself — and 
became perfectly satisfied that with this lady there was 
no trickery or deception of any kind whatever; that she 
was perfectly honest and sincere in the matter; and 
willing to give me all the information and light in her 
power, which however was very little. I was convinced 
she did not understand the subject herself. 

I also visited other persons claiming to be mediums 
of various kinds; some of whom were such, others I 
concluded were impostors; but as these seances and mani- 
festations have been described so often, I will not 
detain the reader with a repetition. 

I have never conversed with any person upon this 
subject, who professed to have given it a full and candid 
investigation with one generally recognized by spiritual- 
ists as a medium, who was not convinced the phenomena 
were not jugglery, though they may not believe it to be 
of spiritual origin. 

As for myself, I was unable to arrive at a definite 
conclusion. I was unable to conceive of any physical 
laws which could cause the phenomena; but at the same 
time there were strong, if not overwhelming reasons — 
which have often been stated by others — for doubting 
the spiritual hypothesis. 

My investigations were mostly made within a few 



10 THE INVISIBLES. 

months, when finding I made no progress, and that those 
Avho had investigated for years, knew no more about the 
subject than myself, I discontinued my visits. 

Others who commenced their investigations at the 
same time with myself, were fully satisfied that they 
received communications from departed friends. I re- 
ceived the same kind of communications and "tests" of 
identity, but they failed to satisfy me. They were 
astounding and unaccountable, but bore w r hat may be 
called internal evidence that they were not from the 
parties whose names were given. And the very fact 
that every one visiting these mediums could receive 
what purported to be communications from their friends, 
or from almost any one they wished to hear from, 
seemed to me strong evidence that the communications 
did not come from the other world. 

Visitors would not only receive communications from 
any friend, but also from George Washington, Benjamin 
Franklin, or almost any one called for. 

In the year 1863, I was residing at T , about two 

hours' ride by railroad from New York ; and came to the 
latter city in the fall to pass the winter. 

Having now plenty of leisure time, I determined to 
make another effort to at least satisfy myself as to 
whether these so called spiritual manifestations were 
such or not. 

Since my former investigations I had read consider- 
able upon the subject, and although it was as dark and 
unintelligible as ever, I was inclined to the belief that 
disembodied spirits did visit and communicate with our 
world. 

Shortly after my arrival in New York, I called on 



author's narrative. 11 

Miss Fox, and made an engagement for a subsequent 
day. 

On the day fixed she was unwell, and being disap- 
pointed the second time, I abandoned the idea of a 
sSance with her. 

I visited two, not very well-known, "impressible" me- 
diums — at least they pretended to be such — but the 
interviews were not very satisfactory. 

These mediums both told me that I was myself a 
medium, and that I could get more satisfactory commu- 
nications from my departed friends, by sitting alone, 
than through any other person. 

I had been told the same during my former investi- 
gations, and had then made the experiment without any 
success. 

I now renewed the experiment; and I found that 
while holding a pencil on paper, as in the act of writ- 
ing, there was a slight foreign influence guiding my 
hand. It was very slight, almost imperceptible; and 
required the nicest observation to determine in which 
direction my hand was inclined to move; but that there 
was an influence outside of myself, was sufficiently evi- 
dent. 

From this time I devoted about an hour each day to 
sitting and writing in this way. For a long time — 
nearly a month — nothing but proper names were written, 
and even these with great difficulty. Frequently during 
a whole hour's sitting not even a name would be written ; 
merely crooked lines, circles, etc., executed. 

I was born, and passed the most of my life at C , 

Ohio. The names written were— with very few excep- 
tions — those of persons who had resided there; some were 



12 THE INVISIBLES. 

intimate acquaintances, others were not, and I had 
entirely forgotten them ; and of these latter, I have since 
learned some are still living in our world. 

Some names were incorrectly spelled, appearing to be 
Avritten in accordance with the sound. 

The first name written was that of a very intimate 
friend who died at C the preceding year. 

When the first name of a sister of mine, who had died 
more than twenty years previously, was attempted to be 
given, it was written partly according to sound. It was 
a name of four syllables, only two of which were given, 
these two forming a name somewhat common. Of 
course I did not suppose that the person writing claimed 
to be my sister until so informed. 

I continued this practice in New York until May in 
the succeeding year, (1864,) when I returned to T . 

Even up to this time, the writing of a short sentence 
was a very tedious process. 

The two longest sentences written were — one from a 
female who said she had lived in Albany, N. Y.; had 
been seduced by a man who was then at one of the 
large hotels in New York; (which she named), and that 
her body was in the cemetery at Albany, without any 
tombstone. She wished me to see the man, and induce 
him to erect a tombstone. I think she did not give his 
name, and I did not ask for it. 

The other communication was from an author, who 
said he had written a book called, "All round the world;" 
that the manuscript was left with a publisher in New 
York; and he wished me to have it published. On 
asking for the name of the publisher, he gave that of 



author's narrative. 13 

Howard. I think there is no publisher of that name in 
New York. 

The communications at this time were very ungram- 
matical; "Be we" for example, would be written instead 
of are we. 

Before leaving New York, one of the other world, 
giving the name of an intimate acquaintance of mine; a 

member of one of the most respectable families in C ; 

himself well educated; and who had died about twenty 
years previously — appeared to have got control of the 
writing, to the exclusion of all others. 

This person also spelt the first name of the gentleman 
apparently according to the sound, and not as it should 
be written. 

He was very vulgar, as well as illiterate. I endeavored 
to revive some feeling of manhood in him, but it was of 
no avail. He said he knew he was a miserable degraded 
creature, but he had no expectation, and no desire to 
be any better. I then tried to induce him to leave, 
and let some one of my relatives, or some other person 
write, but without success. 

He would personate my sister ; but his style was so 
coarse that I detected the imposition ; then he would ad- 
mit it ; but in a short time repeat the attempt. No 
reasoning, coaxing, or appeals to his pride and self-re- 
spect would induce him to leave. 

* So far there was nothing materially different from 
what I had witnessed at other mediums. But on the 
main point, that of communication with persons for- 
merly inhabitants of our world, I was satisfied. At 
a later period, the idea occurred to me, whether these 

2 



14 THE INVISIBLES. 

might not be a different species of beings from ourselves, 
who from being constantly with us, and able to read our 
minds, had become familiar with our language, and ac- 
quired sufficient knowledge of individuals to be able to 
personate them. And if it might not be possible these 
beings had originated the belief in " demons" and " devils" 

But very slight reflection convinced me this theory 
was inadmissible. 

I determined to continue my practice until the writ- 
ing could be executed with more facility. 

On resuming at T , there was a change of charac- 
ters. The names given purported to be those of soldiers 
who had lived in that vicinity, and who had been killed 
in battle, or died while connected with the army. They 
wished to communicate with their friends in our world 
through me. I did not intend acting as a public me- 
dium, and took no steps towards ascertaining the accu- 
racy of these communications. . 

I left New York on Monday, and the writing pur- 
ported to be mostly by these soldiers until the succeed- 
ing Friday. On that day the name of a Mr. B , 

who had boarded at the same hotel as myself, the past 
winter, was written. 

As I had seen the gentleman on the preceding Sun- 
day, this would appear to be a very sudden death. Still 
there had occurred at the same hotel during the past 
winter, two deaths about as sudden ; one of them more 

so ; and as Mr. B , had met with a severe accident 

from which he had not entirely recovered when I last 
saw him, his death did not seem so very improbable. 
The statement was that he had taken a severe cold, from 



author's narrative. 15 

the effect of which, in connection with his injury, he had 
died the day afterVI left New York. 

This was in the evening. The next day I found New 
York papers, and examined the obituary notices of each 
day since that on which it was stated he died ; but found 
no notice of his death. 

Mr. B , (for brevity I will designate the persona- 
tor by this name), came again in the evening when I sat 
down to write. I told him I had examined the New 
York newspapers, and found no notice of his death. He 
insisted on the identity, and I made such tests as I was 
able. The questions I asked were answered correctly, 
but I did not know enough about him or his affairs and 
connections to make a very thorough test; besides, I 
was aware that these inhabitants of the other world 
could to some extent read my mind, and might thus get 
the answer ; so that the tests were not entirely convinc- 
ing. 

A day or two after the first visit of Mr. B , I was 

visited by one of the other world, giving the name of 

Ellen . The surname I could not read, and as 

she did not profess to have been an acquaintance of 
mine, I did not ask it to be written a second time. 

Ellen said she was born at Unadilla, New York ; 
(a place I never visited), and that she died there ; but 
that she had passed part of her life at Albany, New York. 

She was very illiterate and vulgar : she acknowledged 
she had lived a depraved life at Albany ; but felt no re- 
morse or shame on account of it; said she was just the 
same now, and had no desire to reform. 

For several days Ellen and Mr. B did most, if 

not all — the writing. A few days after Ellen's first 



16 THE INVISIBLES. 

visit, Mr. B informed me that a young lady with 

whom he had been acquainted in New York, and who 
was the daughter of a New York banker, had come with 
him, and would like to write. 

Mr. B also advised me to have no further com- 
munication with Ellen, as she was a very low, vile 
person. 

The individual that Mr. B brought, gave the 

name of Miss Annie Allen. She said her family resided 
at No. — East 22d Street, New York ; that her father 
was a banker, dealing in foreign exchange, but she could 
not give the name of the firm. 

Her family, she stated, were intimately acquainted 

with Mr. and Mrs. B ; and she had died about four 

years previous. 

Two or three days after Miss Allen's visit, I received 
a visit from a young girl — about twelve years of age — 
who said she had lived in Marion, Ohio ; and she asked 
if we were then in Marion. I believe she gave no name. 

As I was not aware that any other persons of the 
other world were present, I asked her how she had found 
me ; as she did not seem to know even where I was. 

She replied that she had heard of me at a meeting in 
her world, and that a very old man had brought her. 

The man, she said, had died so long since, that he 
could not write. In reply to my question as to the 
length of time he had been in the other world ; she 
stated, about jive hundred years. 

The object of this girl's visit — according to my recol- 
lection — was to inquire about her mother. As I was 
not in Marion, I could give her no information, and she 
did not repeat her visit. 



author's narrative. 17 

Shortly . after the visit of the young girl, a Mrs. Arnold 
came. She had lived, as she stated, at South Bend, 
Ohio, and had died young. I don't recollect, if she 
stated, how long previous. 

I told her I was a native of Ohio, and that I was 
quite confident there was no such place as South Bend 
in the state. 

She then at first said she might be mistaken as to the 
state, but was positive as to the name of the village; but 
finally insisted she was correct as to its being South 
Bend, Ohio. 

She could not tell in what county it was situated, but 
said it was on the Ohio River. 

Neither she, Miss Allen, or Ellen, appeared to have 
any particular object in coming, other than the amuse- 
ment of writing; but these three continued their visits. 
Others made single visits, or came two or three times, 
but the names have no particular connection with the 
narrative. 

I wished to get rid of Ellen, she was so excessively 
vulgar and ignorant; and would not knowingly, (and I 
could usually detect her style), allow her to write. This 
of course made her very angry. 

As I was passing along the street one day, soon after 
forming this determination — and which was shortly after 
Mr. B advised me to take that course, which prob- 
ably had some influence — I felt what appeared to be a 
slight blow, in the region of the stomach ; and later in 
the same day, while standing on the piazza of the hotel, 
I received two more in the same locality, delivered in 
quick succession, and rather more severe than the first. 

Suspecting these to be caused in some way by Ellen, 

2* 



18 • THE INVISIBLES. 

I took pencil and note book in my hand, to allow her to 
write. 

She wrote, " I did it with my foot;" and she proceeded 
to state that she meant to kill me. 

I felt that it would be a very serious matter if those 
shocks were continued, but she was so ignorant I 
thought I might possibly deceive her as to the effect. 
So I told her she could not injure any one in our world; 
and holding the pencil in the palm of my hand, I said 
she could not move that. She expressed surprise that 
she could not, and I felt no more of the shocks. 

Both Mr. B and Miss Allen urged me to call on 

Mrs. B , so that the former could communicate with 

her through me, or at least write to her. The former 
gave me incidents which he said would satisfy her that 
the communication was from him. They were some of 
them of a private nature, and I told him I should 
not write matter of that kind, if certain that he was 
Mr. B . 

He replied, "For God's sake write just what I tell 
you, and then she will know it is me; and she will not 
be at all offended." 

It finally occurred to me that there was an acquaint- 
ance of Mr. B at T , who would be likely to 

know if he was dead. I mentioned this to Mr. B , 

and he requested me to see the gentleman, as he would 
undoubtedly have heard of his death. 

I decided to do so, but as I had frequently met him 
in the street and at my hotel, in the expectation of soon 
seeing him in this way again, I postponed calling on 
him for this special purpose. 

It was several days before we happened to meet; 



author's narrative. 19 

when we did, I mentioned having heard of the death of 
Mr. B . 

The gentleman said it must be a mistake, as he had 
not heard of it, and he had seen him quite recently — 
naming the day, which was subsequent to that on which 
I had been told he died. 

The gentleman added that he was going to New York 
that day, and should probably learn as to the death. 

On stating — later in the day in my room — this con- 
versation to the person professing to be Mr. B , he 

insisted that the gentleman was mistaken as to the date, 
and requested me to see him again when he returned 
from New York. 

Miss Allen said she had been acquainted with this 
gentleman, and the next day she informed me that she 
had just seen him in the street, not far from my hotel, 

and requested me to go out and see him. Mr. B 

was not at this time with me. 

I should have stated before, that by this time these 
persons were able to write nearly as rapidly as I could 
myself in the ordinary way; and they sometimes wished 
to communicate when I had not sat down in my room 
for that purpose. 

Shortly before leaving New York, I had been told by 
them that a great change was to take place in myself, 
and that I would know when they wished to write. 

This signal now was, feeling one of them clasp my 
hand; at least this was the sensation. 

On going into the street to see Mr. B 's friend, 

Miss Allen informed me he had gone into a certain 
bank, and I waited two or three minutes for him to 
come out, as he would have to pass where I was standing. 



20 THE INVISIBLES. 

When the person came out that Miss Allen indicated 
as being the gentleman referred to, I told her there was 
some resemblance, but that the latter was several years 
older; that it was several years since she had seen him, 
according to her own statement, and the gentleman had 
changed some in the mean time. 

Later in the day, when again at my hotel, as Miss 
Allen continued urging me to see the gentleman, I told 
her that if she would go to the gentleman's hotel, and 
ascertain that he was in, I would call on him and make 
the inquiry. 

Whether she could do this or not, I did not know. I 
was led to make the proposition from her having said she 
had seen him in the street, and to enter the bank. 

She said she would do it, and in a few minutes in- 
formed me that she had been to the hotel, and found 
the gentleman in. I asked her what he was doing. She 
replied that he was sitting at a small form, but that she 
did not notice — or could not see — (I am not certain 
which of these expressions was used), what he was 
doing. 

This hotel was situated in a street crossing at right 
angles that in which mine was located, and the distance 
between the hotels — following the streets — was about 
two hundred yards. 

I went to the gentleman's hotel, and looked in the 
two principal rooms, without seeing him ; then took 
pencil and note book, when Miss Allen wrote that he 
was in a small room, back of the one last entered. 
Looking in the small room, I saw a gentleman — the 
only person in the room — sitting at a small form, reading 
a newspaper. 



author's narrative. 21 

But this person was as much older than the one I was 
looking for, as the first was younger ; and there was no 
striking resemblance between either of them, and Mr. 

B 's acquaintance. All three had full beards ; the 

first not changed at all, and I told Miss Allen, on see- 
ing this gentleman that the beard of the person we were 
looking for, was slightly changed — or grayish ; that of 
the gentleman found at the hotel, was quite gray. 

Shortly afterwards, I saw Mr. B 's acquaintance, 

and he informed me that when in New York, he called 

at Mr. B 's office and was told that he had just gone 

out. 

The invisible person claiming to be him still insisted 
that there was some strange mistake, and gave another 
incident to identify himself; he gave the substance of a 
conversation I had with his wife, which he said the lat- 
ter had repeated to him. He did not give it precisely 

correct, yet, if not Mr. B , I could not perceive how 

he should know anything about it. 

I inquired if he had a brother, thinking the mistake 
might have occurred in that way. 

He then wrote that he now perceived how the mis- 
take occurred ; that he had a cousin of the same name 
(surname) as himself, who was connected with him in 
business ; that when his friend inquired at the office for 

Mr. B , the person of whom he inquired, supposed 

that he knew of his (the Mr. B present) death, and 

that he inquired for his cousin. 

He said. I ought to take the slight trouble of either 
going or writing to New York, and I felt that he was 
right ; especially as if not Mr. B , I could perceive 



22 THE INVISIBLES. 

no motive for his requesting me to do what would ex- 
pose the deception. 

In the latter part of May — two weeks or more after 
the first visit of this person — I wrote to the proprietor 

of the hotel in which Mr. B had boarded ; stating 

that I had heard of the death of the latter, and request- 
ing to be informed as to the fact ; also requesting that 
if not correct the proprietor would not mention my in- 
quiry, as some persons were very sensitive about such 
matters. There was another reason for the latter re- 
quest, which I did not state ; which was, that as Mr. 
B was not, what might be called an intimate ac- 
quaintance, I had no good reason to give for making the 
inquiry. 

The reply of the proprietor was, that Mr. B was 

living, and still boarding at that hotel. 

This ended that personation, and also for awhile, the 
visits of Miss Allen. 

But Mrs. Arnold and Ellen continued to visit me. I 
asked the former why she had suffered me to be deceived. 
She replied that she was deceived herself; that it was a 

man who personated Mr. B , and she supposed it was 

the latter person ; and she now gave what she said she 
had ascertained were the motives for the deception ; which 
were briefly as follows : — Ellen had been acquainted 

with Mr. B , when the latter resided at A , 

New York ;* she had cause (which need not be stated), for 

hating him : at a recent visit of his to A , she (now in 

the other world), also visiting there, had seen him, and 
followed him to New York ; there she had seen me at 

the same hotel, and followed me to T , : her scheme 

* Mr. B 's former place of residence, but not Albany. 



author's narrative. 23 

was by personating Mr. B -, to induce me to write to 

his wife, when an explanation would of course be neces- 
sary, and she would have an opportunity of upbraiding 

Mr. B , and stating her case to his wife, which would 

further mortify him. Miss Allen having been ac- 
quainted with Mr. B in New York, was persuaded 

by Ellen to assist in the personation. 

This explanation I understood Ellen to assent to at 
the time, but she afterwards contradicted it. I did not 
like to let her write, and therefore received no other 
explanation. 

I had understood that Mr. B formerly resided at 

A ; but if Ellen lived at Unadilla, I could not see 

how Mr. B should happen to have been acquainted 

with her; for although I did not know in precisely 
what part of the State Unadilla was, I knew .it was 

not near A . Besides, it did not appear probable 

that Mr. B would have been very intimately ac- 
quainted with such a low creature as Ellen. 

Mrs. Arnold said she understood Ellen had not lived 

in Unadilla, but in S , New York. This village I 

had heard of, and my impression was that it also was at 

a considerable distance from A . I had no map . at 

the time to examine, but have since found that I was 

under an erroneous impression ; S- is an adjoining 

village of the city of A . 

But if this explanation was correct, I could not 
understand why I had been advised by one personating 

Mr. B not to let Ellen write ; nor why I had been 

urged to take steps, such as calling on Mr. B 's 

acquaintance, and writing to the hotel proprietor — for 



24 THE INVISIBLES. 

the latter had been assented to when I proposed it — 
which would show me the deception. 

Mrs. Arnold stated in explanation of the latter point, 
that Miss Allen regretted having suffered herself to be 
drawn into the deception by Ellen, and fearing that the 

latter would induce me to write to Mrs. B , she had 

taken the above course to prevent this; and the inference 
was, that it was Miss Allen who had advised me not to 
let Ellen write. 

About the last of May I became quite unwell. Mrs. 
Arnold was at this time my most constant visitor, 
though my sister came frequently, and others occasion- 
ally. Mrs. Arnold appeared to be very kind, and to 
have had — as she professed — considerable experience 
with invalids. She advised me to live mostly on tea 
and toast, which diet I had adopted, having very little 
appetite. 

She brought one day an individual of her world to 
see me, who stated that she was the daughter of a phy- 
sician of whom I had heard, and that she had herself 
studied medicine. This female stated that there were 
alarming symptoms in my case, and that she should 
bring a male physician of her world; and she immedi- 
ately left — as represented — for that purpose. 

In a short time she returned with the physician, who 
gave the name of "Professor Arbuckle, late of the Royal 
College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland." 

He told me to sit up straight, so that he could make 
an examination, and that I must be prepared to learn 
the truth about my situation, for if my illness was a 
dangerous one, he should tell me so. 

After an examination of two or three minutes, he 



author's narrative. 25 

wrote, "Nothing the matter, sir; nothing at all the 
matter. Take an arsenical decoction and you will be all 
right." 

Presuming the prescription was some kind of a prepa- 
ration of arsenic,* I thought it was rather too strong a 
dose, especially if there was "nothing at all the matter" 
with me; and I told him I thought the prescription 
was never given in this country, as I had not heard of 
it. 

"Then," he wrote, "take senna — take four doses of 
senna; — good bye." 

"He is gone," the female physician then wrote; "he 
has an immense practice in our world, and could only 
stay a few minutes." 

I asked why she had not brought an American phy- 
sician, instead of one from Dublin, of whom I had 
never heard. 

She replied that he had been very celebrated, and 
expressed surprise that I had not heard of him ; and she 
added that he was now considered one of the best in 
their world. In reply to my question, she stated that 
he died about twelve years previous. 

Although senna is a well known drug, I had never 
taken or seen it, and knew nothing of its properties; 
and I told the female physician I did not like to take a 
prescription coming from her world. She explained its 
properties — as I have since ascertained correctly — but I 

did not take it. On sending for a physician of T , 

he gave a very similar prescription. 

The T — physician, however said that I needed a 

* Mrs. Arnold afterward informed me that it was a vegetable prepa- 
ration, known by the above name. 
3 



26 THE INVISIBLES. 

more generous diet than tea and toast. Of course I said 
nothing to him about his rival practitioners. 

I have never been across the Atlantic, and never 
before heard of Prof. ArbucJde. I subsequently in- 
quired of a gentleman somewhat acquainted in Ireland, 
and he informed me there was such a person in Dublin 
— an Englishman — of considerable celebrity; and he 
thought he had died about the time stated. As to his 
connection with the institution named, the gentleman 
was not informed, and I neglected to ask him if there 
was an institution in Dublin of that name. 

During this illness I acquired the faculty of hearing 
those of the other world speak. I had become able to 
understand them, by their merely imitating writing. 
By moving my finger on a table, or anything — in the 
dark — imitating writing, I understood what they wished 
to communicate. This was a mystery to me, and they 
said it was also to them. 

One day during my illness, Mrs. Arnold placed her 
lips to mine, — (at least she so stated, and I could feel a 
magnetic touch), and I understood perfectly her commu- 
nications, although I heard no sound. She and others 
continued this practice, until finally I distinguished 
faint sounds, which increased in distinctness until they 
could talk through my ear in the ordinary way. 

At least they said they did, and I so supposed. 

I had received no further annoyance from Ellen since 
the pencil experiment — which I have described — until 
after I had written to New York, and ascertained the 
deception relative to Mr. B . 

Shortly after that, I was awoke in the middle of the 
night by what felt precisely like a hand grasping my 



author's narrative. 27 

throat, and trying to choke me. Ellen informed me 
that it was her, and that she meant to choke me to 
death.* 

I again told her — as in reference to the blows — that 
she could not injure me; but this time without the same 
effect; she continued her efforts to choke me. 

I soon perceived, however, that she could not com- 
press the windpipe at all, or in the least affect my 
breathing; and therefore cared little about it. 

She continued this several nights in succession. It 
was very disagreeable — slightly painful — and disturbed 
my sleep considerably. I could prevent it almost 
entirely, by putting my hands around my neck — no 
other covering had any effect — but trying to sleep with 
my hands around my neck, was rather inconvenient; 
and I thought the best course was to let her work until 
she became tired of it. 

After this had continued several nights, I again 
awoke, finding that my lower limbs were nearly paral- 
lyzed, and I had violent palpitation of the heart. 

Ellen now informed me that she had changed her 
tactics, and had been operating by her magnetism on 
my heart during the night; and she said that if she 
had had one hour longer, she "would have stopped its 
beating" 

This, I confess, did frighten me, and as it was nearly 
morning, I slept no more that night. 

The attempt to affect the action of my heart by her 
magnetic power, was now renewed by Ellen every 
night. 

My sister, Mrs. Arnold, and sometimes other friends, 
* At this time I could hear them talk. 



28 THE INVISIBLES. 

came and stayed with me all night, to counteract as far 
as they could her magnetism; but they stated that they 
were unable to entirely prevent her influence, as her 
magnetic power was tremendous. The latter fact I was 
well aware of; none of the others seemed to have half 
her power. 

My condition was now a very distressing one. I 
must sleep, and yet the idea of sleeping, with this crea- 
ture constantly attempting to affect the action of my 
heart — the palpitations of which were excessive — was 
horrible; and sound, refreshing sleep, was out of the 
question. I began to feel that I should ultimately be 
worn out. 

What I am now about to narrate, will doubtless to the 
reader appear very silly; as it did afterward to myself. 
But at the time, I was mentally and physically ex- 
hausted from want of sleep. Another great cause of 
my credulity at this time was, the direct influence these 
persons were able to exercise upon my mind, which I 
did not discover until long afterward. 

After Ellen had continued her magnetic efforts several 
nights, Mrs. Arnold said one evening that she would go 
for my father; that he was strongly en rapport* with 
me, and would be able to protect me. 

In a short time she returned with my father, and 
another person, formerly a very intimate acquaintance 
of mine. 

These now stated that if Ellen did not leave me, they 
would kill her. 

I was instructed to sit up, and fix my mind intently 
on my father. 

* I give the term she used. 



author's narrative. 29 

My father died when I was young, and had been 
more or less of an invalid for a long time. I therefore 
now naturally thought of him as such. But I was told 
that would not do; that I must think of him as being 
powerful, and that in fact he was now powerful. 

I supposed I would have to sit up only a short time; 
but by telling me occasionally that she was dead, then 
that it was a mistake — she had revived — they kept me 
sitting up thinking until daylight; then they said she 
was really dead, and I laid down to sleep. 

I did not sleep very soundly, however, and in about 
three hours, I was told that another fiend about as bad 
as Ellen was operating on my heart ; that my friends 
were so much exhausted they were unable to protect me; 
and I was advised to leave my room and walk in the 
open air. 

Feeling the palpitation of my heart again increasing, 
I took their advice and went out. My father then said 
that if I would again think of him as before, he would 
try to kill this fiend also. 

I walked about a mile and a half, when I was told 
that this one was dead. 

While thinking as described, I had not so much 
noticed my fatigue, but I now found myself thoroughly 
exhausted. 

I rested awhile at a house in the vicinity, and then 
rode back to my hotel and laid down. 

But I was in such a nervous condition that I could 
not sleep. The succeeding night was one of horror. 
My friends of the other world told me that I was so 
exhausted that I must die. 

When sleep did steal over me for a few minutes at a 
3 * 



30 THE INVISIBLES. 

time, it seemed unnatural, and I would be told it was 
the appi-oaeh of death. To add to the horror, the 
palpitation of my heart continued violent, and I was 
told it was caused by other fiends like Ellen, who were 
now surrounding me, and that my friends were so 
exhausted they could no longer protect me. These 
fiends would by their magnetic power, cause my lower 
jaw to drop, in imitation of death. This however I 
could, and did, by slight effort stop. But altogether the 
scene was so horrible, that my mother (also in the other 
world) who was present, said that she could scarcely 
bear to witness it. 

Towards morning, my friends told me that I might 
possibly live after all ; and I had arrived at the same 
conclusion. The succeeding night, I slept tolerably 
sound, and next morning felt comparatively well. I did 
not entirely recover from this, however, for several 
months. 

About a week after the above " killing" affair, I was 
visited by one of the other world giving the name of 

"Mr. N ," and who stated that he was formerly 

president of one of the Wall Street Banks, in New York. 

I had been for a short time engaged in business in 
Wall Street, but had no acquaintance with the officers 
of the Bank he named. I now thought however, that 
I recollected the name he gave, as connected with that 
institution ; but whether as president or cashier, I had 
no distinct recollection ; and had not heard of the death 
of either officer. 

In reply to my question, he. stated that he had died 
in the year 1860 or 1861 : — I am not certain which date 
he gave. 



author's narrative. 31 

I asked him how he happened to find me ; as he said 
nothing about there being any one with him. He re- 
plied that he had heard of me from my sister. 

He proceeded to state, that when in our world, he had 
been interested in the subject of " spiritualism ;" had to 
a slight extent investigated it; and that since his death 
he had visited mediums, but had not before found one 
with whom he could communicate ; that he was satisfied 
I differed from all other mediums, and he felt very much 
interested in me. He requested me to cease intercourse 
with the trifling females that visited me merely for 
amusement, and to let him take charge of communica- 
tions from his world. 

On subsequently examining a bank-note reporter, I 

found that a Mr. N was now president of the bank ; 

and at his next visit, I mentioned this.* He understood 
me to refer to reports of the bank, and replied that the 
Directors had said they would continue him president, 
whether alive or dead; and that perhaps they were con- 
tinuing to use his name. 

I explained that I referred to what are commonly 
called " counterfeit detectors." 

He then, after a little hesitation, said it must be his 
son that was now president ; that he had a son who was 
a director, but he had not supposed he would be made 
president ; and he wished me to make the inquiry. 

As I had given him the initialsf of the present pre- 
sident, this was all rather strange : that he should first 

* I believe I have not before stated — thinking it unnecessary — that 
in conversing, it is not necessary that I speak aloud — merely forming 
the words in my mind, is sufficient. 

■f I believe he had only given his surname. 



82 THE INVISIBLES. 

think his name was used, and then be in doubt as to 
whether it was his son or not. 

Although Mrs. Arnold appeared to be very kind, I 
had ascertained she was a great liar ; this and her silli- 
ness had caused me to become very tired of her company 
before the visit of the President. 

When she came, she would ask me to place a chair 
for her to sit on. During the trouble with Ellen, after 
watching all night, she would profess to be exhausted in 
the morning, and request me to pour a little Cologne 
water in the palm of my hand, and hold it for her to in- 
hale. She said that revived her very much. Sometimes 
she would ask me to open the window in the morning 
that she might pass out ; as she was so exhausted by the 
contest with Ellen, that she could not pass out unless 
there was an opening. 

She would personate my sister, and when I detected 
the fraud, would frankly confess that it was her ; but in 
a short time repeat the personation ; so that although I 
believed my sister had visited me — the acquaintance 

manifested with C and our family satisfied me of 

that — yet I did not feel certain at all times when she 
was stated to be present, whether it was her or not. 

Mrs. Arnold once brought, as she stated, two or three 
relatives of hers from her world, who wished to write 
letters to their friends in this. I wrote for each at their 
dictation a short letter, and when I asked for the address 
they gave for one, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania ; but for the 
others the only address they could give was, " Ellensville, 
near South Bend, Ohio ;" so I destroyed them all. 

At another time she told me that her husband was 
still living in our world ; that a gentleman was now, 



AUTHOR S NARRATIVE. 66 

or had been courting her ; but he had become suspicious 
that she had been a widow ; and unless she could satisfy 
him on that point, she said, the gentleman would not 
marry her. " For as a general rule" she said, "gentlemen 
in our world don't like to marry females who have been 
young widoivs in yours." And she stated the reason, 
which I must omit. 

She wished me, therefore, to ascertain that her husband 
was still in our world, that she might bring the gentle- 
man who had been courting her to see me, and become 
satisfied that she had not been a widow. 

I thought it hardly worth while to make the search. 

She came to me one evening, before I had learned 
that she was such a trifler, and told me that an acquaint- 
ance of mine at C , a married lady, had just died. 

Next morning she came again, and informed me that 
she had been mistaken as to the person; and gave the 
name of an unmarried lady — of the same place — also 
an acquaintance of mine. 

I wrote to my brother at C , inquiring if this 

lady had died. He replied that she was still living, 
and appeared to be enjoying very good health. 

Mrs. Arnold professed to be surprised at the answer; 

she said there was a death that night at C , and 

that she had been told the name of the lady was the 
one she had given me; she said she would examine into 
the matter herself, and give me the correct name. 

At her next visit she said she had ascertained the 
lady's name. 

When she gave the name, I recollected there was 

such a family at C when I left — which was nine 

years previous — and that there were two young ladies 



34 THE INVISIBLES. 

in the family. I had seen them in the street, but had 
no acquaintance with them, and had therefore not 
thought of them since leaving. 

I could not perceive how Mrs. Arnold got this name, 
unless in the way she 'stated. At all events, to test her 
accuracy, I decided to write again to my brother, 
inquiring if a lady of that name had died at the date 
which I gave; telling him I would explain my motive 
for the inquiry at some future time. 

He replied that there was a lady of that name now 
residing there, but that no one of the name had died at 
the date referred to. 

This reply I received about the time of the Bank 
President's visit; and this deception, with that relative 

to Mr. B and the personations of my sister, showed 

me how liable I was to be deceived, and the inclination 
of these beings for deception. For the personation of 
Mr. B— — a motive had been given ; but I could per- 
ceive none whatever for the deceptions of Mrs. Arnold, 
other than the love of it. 

To guard against these deceptions in future, the 
President, (for brevity I will call him such), informed 
me that he had engaged Miss Allen to remain with me. 
He said that she was a very amiable person; that she 
had been drawn into the deception relative to Mr. 

B by Ellen, and was very penitent on account of it. 

As she was en rapport with me, he said it would be 
better to employ her, than one that was not. 

The night after the "killing" affair, when told that I 
was dying, I was informed that Miss Allen was present, 
and deeply regretted the part she had taken in the 
personation of Mr. B . She said nothing herself, 



author's narrative. 35 

and that was the only time I had heard of her since 
receiving the letter from New York relative to Mr. 
B . 

She now came and informed me that she had been 
engaged by the President to remain with me day and 
night, to guard me against the deceptions of others of 
her world. When I retired at night, she said she 
should, as a matter of propriety, leave my room, but 
would remain in the vicinity, so as to be able to observe 
if others came. 

The President made frequent visits, sometimes alone, 
sometimes with others. Among those accompanying 
him one day, he gave the names of Howard, the English 
philanthropist — Daboll, the arithmetician — and a former 
resident of one of the Southern states, who was a person 
of some notoriety, but I had not heard of his death. 
He said he had died recently at Paris. There was also 
another New York bank president, who died the pre- 
ceding winter or spring, while I was in New York, and 
a New York stock broker, with whom I had been 
acquainted, and of whose death I had first heard the 
preceding winter; though he died before my arrival in 
New York. As this broker has considerable connection 
with my narrative, I will call him Mr. J . 

The visit — or pretended visit — of Howard and 
Daboll, excited my suspicions. I remarked to Mr. 
Howard that I had read of his frequent visits to medi- 
ums. He replied that this was his first visit to any 
since his death. But neither himself, Daboll, or the 
Southern gentleman, ever called on me again. 

There happened to be at the hotel where I was board- 
ing, at this time, a gentleman recently returned from 



36 THE INVISIBLES. 

Paris, and I asked liirn if he had heard of the death of 
the latter person. 

He said that the person I referred to was not dead, 
but that his son — whose first name was the same as 
the father's — was lying quite sick in Paris when he 
left. 

I had not heard that the father was in Paris, nor that 
he had a son. The President at a subsequent visit said 
that it was the son that came with him; but I have 
made no effort to learn as to his death. 

When Mr. J the stock broker, inquired if I had 

heard of his death, I told him that I had not seen any 
published notice of it, but that I had heard he had 
committed suicide. I added, however, that my inform- 
ant was not an acquaintance of his, and did not profess 
to know much about the circumstances. 

On being told this, Mr. J appeared to be very 

indignant; saying the report was false, and that his 
death was accidental. But after the President had fin- 
ished what he wished to say, he informed me that Mr. 

J wished some private conversation, and that the 

rest of the party would retire for a short time to the 
farther part of the room. 

Mr. J then told me that what I had heard as to 

his death was true; that he did commit suicide in conse- 
quence of pecuniary embarrassments. But as I had 
seen no one that knew much about it, nor any notice of 
it in newspapers, he requested that I would, when next 
in New York, make inquiries of his acquaintances, 
as to whether it was generally thought that he had com- 
mitted suicide. 

Being in New York shortly afterward, I made the 



author's narrative. 37 

inquiry of an acquaintance of his, and was told that it 
was supposed he had committed suicide in a fit of tem- 
porary derangement. I did not at the time, nor have I 
since, inquired whether he was pecuniarily embarrassed 

or not. I told Mr. J what I had learned, at his 

next visit. 

The object of the President's repeated visits was, to 
induce me to go at once to New York ; take rooms and 
act as a public medium. He said I was the only one 
with whom the better class of his world could commu- 
nicate, and therefore I ought to do it. Besides, he said 
it would be pecuniarily more remunerative than the 
business I was then engaged in, for wealthy people would 
be willing to pay very liberally, if they could hold un- 
doubted and satisfactory intercourse with their departed 
friends ; as they could through me. 

This idea he urged with great persistence ; but I told 
him I could not conveniently go to New York then, and 
did not wish to until fall ; that I was then going there 
to pass the winter, and would occasionally evenings 
serve as a medium without charge, but would not de- 
vote my whole time to it, nor become a public medium. 

With this proposition he finally professed to be con- 
tented ; but he said he wished to be making arrange- 
ments prior to my going to New York ; and wanted to 
write to a gentleman living there. 

So one day — it was now about the first of July — I 
held the pencil for him to write. He preferred this 
course to dictating and letting me write, that he might 
state in his letter — as he did — that it was written by 
him. 

He had not told me who he intended writing to, but 

4 



38 THE INVISIBLES. 

when he wrote the name I thought I had heard it. I 
am not now certain that I ever had. 

The letter reminded the gentleman — whom I will call 

Mr. K , of their having investigated spiritualism in 

company about four years since ; stated that the writer 
had now found the right kind of a medium, and asking 
if he would not now co-operate with the writer in the 
matter. 

It was signed, " Jos. N , late of the old Bank." 

What kind of co-operation was desired, the writer did 
not state, either in the letter or to me ; and I thought 
the letter was not very explicit, or one exactly calculated 
to inspire confidence. 

This letter the writer wished me to enclose in one of 
my own, requesting an answer sent to me. 

I refused to do this, or to make myself known in the 
matter at all, until satisfied of his identity ; but finally 
consented to give a fictitious name, and to call for the 
answer at the New York Post Office. For I had so 
much doubt as to its being the President, that I did not 
like to even give my residence. 

The letter was written in the evening; next day I 
took it to my office, and enclosed it with a copy — (for I 

feared Mr. K would not be able to read it) — in one 

of my own, stating the circumstances. I intended stating 
in my letter that the name I gave was fictitious, and it 

would then be optional with Mr. K , whether to 

answer or not; but that if he chose to reply, and I 
learned that he had ever investigated spiritualism 

with Mr. N , and the latter had died, I would then 

give my true name and address. 

I had actually commenced the sentence to this effect, 



author's narrative. 39 

when to my surprise — for I was not aware that any of 
the other world were present — I was interrupted by the 
President, who requested me not to state that the name 
was fictitious. I therefore turned the sentence into some- 
thing else, and let the letter go without saying anything 
about he name. 

Having occasion to sejid that day a package to a cor- 
respondent in New York, I enclosed my letter contain- 
ing the other, directing it to be dropped in the Post 
Office. 

A day or two after the President had written, Miss 
Allen said she would like to write a letter to a friend, 
and I held the pencil for her. 

Soon after commencing it she stopped, and said the 
President had just come into the room, and prohibited 
her writing. After a little delay, however, it was agreed 
that she might finish the letter, but the President ad- 
vised that no more should be written until I went to 
New York. 

Miss Allen's letter was addressed to " Dear Molly ;" 
it referred particularly to their having worked together 
in water-color drawing ; as a test of identity the writer 
reminded " Molly" that she once offered to sell the 
writer's drawings to some person that called, for much 
less than what she (the writer) thought them worth ; 
and I inferred from the letter that Miss Allen had come 
in before the bargain was completed, and stopped the 
sale. 

The writer stated that she was still engaged in the 
same employment, " only with different materials." 

Miss Allen told me to direct the letter to " MaryMor^- 
ford, care of Morford Milbanh, Neiu York" and to take 



40 THE INVISIBLES. 

it with me when I went to New York, and drop it in 
the Post Office. 

She did not know Mr. Milbank's present residence in 
the city; but stated that Miss Morford, whose parents 
were dead, was a relative of his, and lived with him. 

I suggested that, if she had not seen the lady re 'entry, 
she might be married. 

"Oh no/' she replied, "she will never marry; she 
is one of those kind of girls that never have an 
offer." v 

My sister, although she supposed the person profess- 
ing to be the President was that individual, yet disap- 
proved of my having any connection with him. She 
said he was an irreligious man ; besides, he would want 
me to act as medium so much that it would injure my 
health. 

I told her that I would be careful my health was 

not injured; and — after the letter to Mr. K told 

her that he had written to — and proposed having asso- 
ciated with me — a well-known, religious gentleman of 
New York.* 

She replied that perhaps then he was a better man 
than she had supposed. 

The President on his part said, that although my 
sister was one of the best beings in their world, she was 
not a person by whose advice I ought to be guided ; 
"for," he said, "she saw but little of your world before 
her death; and soon after entering ours, she unfortu- 
nately became connected with a small and narrow- 

* I was in error however as to the identity of this person; I had in 
my mind a person of the same surname, but first name different; 
whose name I had seen with the title Rev. prefixed. 



author's narrative. 41 

minded sect, who still hold pretty much the same 
opinion relative to Jesus Christ — except of course as 
to the resurrection — which they did when in your 
world." 

•My sister never happened to come at the same time 
as the President; and I concluded I would not question 
her about her religious belief at present. 

When I went to New York for Mr. K 's reply, 

having Miss Allen's letter with me, I stopped before 
reaching the Post Office, to look in the directory for the 
name of "Morford Milbank;" but did not find it. 

The President and Miss Allen were with me; -and the 
latter said she must have forgotten the name. 

I then went to the Post Office, but there was no letter 

from Mr. K , which the President thought very 

strange. 

At this time I could hear those of the other world 
about as well as people of our own — perhaps better; for 
my natural sense of hearing is defective. 

On entering the city I observed — as I had before in 
the case of others — that the President saw very imper- 
fectly. He wished me to advise him when we got into 
Broadway, and when in it, said it appeared compara- 
tively deserted. I told him it was about as thronged as 
usual as that season of the year; and asked him how far 
he could see; if he could see the buildings on the oppo- 
site side of the street. He replied that he saw them, 
and that was about as far as he could see. 

After visiting the Post Office the President requested 
me to go into Wall street. 

I entered the United States Assistant Treasurer's 
office, — formerly Custom House ; next the Bank of which 

4* 



42 THE INVISIBLES. 

he had been president; then the present Custom House, 
— formerly Merchants' Exchange. 

On coming out of the latter, the President asked 
me what bankers and brokers I was acquainted with. 

I mentioned several, one of which was a prominent 
firm in Exchange Place. 

He requested me to call on this firm and engage in 
conversation with the senior member on business topics, 
as he wanted to hear him talk. 

I did so; and after conversing a few minutes the 
President asked me to inquire if his son was President 
of the Bank. Rather thoughtlessly, I asked the banker 

if the present president of the Bank, was a son of 

Mr. 1ST , the former president. 

The banker replied that it was the same man — that 
there had been no change. 

I supposed this would end the personation, but on 

going out, the personator of the President said Mr. 

had given a very strange reply; that he knew better; 
and requested me to inquire again. 

In Wall street I met another banker, that I thought 
would be likely to know. Putting my question properly 

this time, I was told that Mr. G was the former 

president; that he had died, and Mr. N , the former 

cashier, had succeeded him. 

On hearing this the person pretending to have been 
the President, seemed really confused. He said, " We 
will have to give it up, won't we, sir?" 

If he had said that he would " have to give it up," I 
should have thought the remark more appropriate. 

I replied that "I did not intend to give it up;" that I 
had met only deception so far in my intercourse with 



author's narrative. 43 

those of his world, but that I meant to persevere, and 
endeavor to get some truth. 

He said he was so "overcome," that he must go home 
at once. 

I determined to take these deceptions as coolly and 
philosophically as possible; but it was a mystery to me 
as to what great amusement there could be in them. 

In the personation of Mr. B , the reported deaths 

at C , and this personation, each had been persisted 

in as long as possible; and in each case I had been 
urged to take such course as would inform me of the 
deception. 

In this last personation, it would seem the persona- 
tor knew a president of the bank had died, and as I 
had not learned this fact on my first inquiry, urged me 
to inquire again that I might do so. 

These were my reflections at the time; but the motive 
inducing them to take all this trouble, and spend so 
much time in this kind of trifling, was beyond my com- 
prehension. 

The same evening, while sitting on the hotel piazza 
at T , the person claiming to be the late bank pre- 
sident, came again, and still insisted that he was that 
person. 

This surprised me, for I supposed I had heard the 
last of that individual. 

He now said that he had been " home" and learned 
that his name when in our world was G . 

Strange as it might seem he said, he had forgotten 
what his name was ; and when I was told that his name 

was G , "I felt" he said, "as if I was not myself but 

some other manP 



44 THE INVISIBLES. 

At that time I had nothing upon which to base an 
opinion on this subject, and could conceive it possible 
that after death some persons might forget what their 
names had been; though the supposition seemed very 
improbable. 

But I now recollected — what did not occur to me 
when he asked me to make the inquiries in New York 
— that on coming out of the Bank, I asked him if he 
saw his son there, and he replied that he did; leaving 
me to infer that his son was acting as president. 

I now reminded him of this. 

"Well," he replied, "I suppose I must have been 
mistaken about that too." 

He said he was glad to find me so calm — that if he 
had been in my position, he should have been in a 
terrible passion; and all he asked was, that I would 
suspend my opinion until I went to New York in the 
fall, when he would satisfy me that he was Mr. G . 

I hardly knew now, what to think of this; evidently 
this person had not — as I had supposed — asked me to 
make the inquiries in New York that I might learn the 
deception ; but was himself mistaken as to the name of 
the former president. 

As he did not expect me to take any further trouble, 
it made little difference whether I suspended my opin- 
ion, or not; and I told him I would do so. 

But I afterward told Miss Allen — who continued 
with me — that whether he was, or was not, the late 
president, if they could not recollect their former lives 
better than that — if they forgot even their names — there 
would be no use in trying to satisfy others of their 



author's narrative. 45 

identity; and that I was not disposed to make the 
attempt. 

She replied that Mr. G was a very singular man 

in that respect — an exception to the general rule; that 
she could recollect her whole former life — every inci- 
dent — as distinctly as she ever could. But she added 
that as they had now learned how forgetful some per- 
sons were, when I acted as medium, every one who 
came to communicate would be cautioned before coming 
to refresh their memory; and there would be no further 
mistakes of that kind. 

The President continued to visit me, but nothing 
further was done in reference to my acting as medium. 

He had brought Mr. J the stock broker to see 

me, and the latter had come several times. The Pre- 
sident had heretofore manifested no antipathy towards 
him. 

But one day, not long after the last named visit to 
New York, the President wanted, to know what it was 

that Mr. J wished to converse about so privately, 

at the time the rest of the party had retired to the 
farther part of the room; and also questioned me about 

my acquaintance with Mr. J— . He said the latter 

had informed him that I was an old, and intimate 
acquaintance of his — that we had been acquainted before 
going to New York to reside; and that the private con- 
versation had reference to old affairs. 

I told the President that I first saw Mr. J in 

New York, and what the private conversation was. 

He said he had known Mr. J in New York, and 

that he was a great "rascal;" and that he was now "a 
poor miserable devilP 



46 THE INVISIBLES. 

I replied that I had considered Mr. J to be about 

as honest as the average of stock brokers; that I had 
given him some business, and thought it had been trans- 
acted fairly. 

He said stock brokers had a way of making their 
transactions appear all right; that he understood the 
whole business; and repeated his assertion, that Mr. 
J was a rascal. 

He had intended, he said, in consequence of Mr. 

J 's assertion that he was an old acquaintance of 

mine, to have him associated in this business; but as I 
now contradicted his assertion, and he was "such a poor 
miserable creature" he would have no connection. 

Miss Allen subsequently spoke of Mr. J in about 

the same terms ; and I received no more visits from him. 

On the 18th of July, I went to Long Branch, New 
Jersey. The day previous to leaving T , Miss Al- 
len informed me that she should not go with me, but 
would meet me at Long Branch on the evening of my 
arrival. 

Shortly before leaving T , Mrs. Arnold came 

again — the first visit of hers for some time. She stated 
that she had also been recently engaged by the President 
to assist Miss Allen, and that she was going with me to 
Long Branch. 

When on making my inquiries in New York, I was 

told that Mr. G was the former president of the 

Bank, concluding this was simply another deception, 
and that that would terminate it, I had made no inquiry 
as to the date of the president's death. 

But on the way to Long Branch, when in New York, 
I made this inquiry of a bank cashier. The cashier was 



author's narrative. 47 

not positive as to the precise date, but I learned that the 
person claiming to have been president, had been sub- 
stantially correct in this particular. I also learned that 

a Mr. G- was a Director of the Bank, but whether 

a son of the late president or not, I did not learn, and 
have not since inquired. 

The first evening after rny arrival at Long Branch, I 
was visited by three male persons of the other world — 
as represented — who wished me to agree to serve as a 
medium for them instead of the President, when I went 
to New York ; and made very brilliant promises of what 
they would do for me if I would consent. One of them 
I was told had been a New York broker, and knew me 
there, but the name given I did not recollect. 

I believe I was not told the names of the other two, 
and did not inquire. They appeared to me rather a low 
set, and I declined having anything to do with them. 

They soon became very abusive, and, using vulgar 
language, threatened to kill me. I had been frightened 
at the idea of Ellen's magnetizing, and affecting the ac- 
tion of my heart ; but these threats of killing me, with- 
out giving any plausible idea as to how it was to be done 
— especially as I was now in a less nervous condition — 
made no very great impression. 

What had alarmed me before was being told by my 
friends that I was in danger. These persons now per- 
sonated my friends, and told the same story as to my 
danger, but the personations were poorly executed, and 
I detected them. They contrived however by their 
talking and magnetizing operations, to keep me awake 
a great portion of the night. 

Miss Allen was not present this night; and I don't 



48 THE INVISIBLES. 

recollect what part Mrs. Arnold took, or what she said. 
I was so sleepy, that in the morning my recollection of 
the incidents of the night was not very distinct. 

In the morning Miss Allen came, and accounted for 
her absence the preceding night, by saying that she 
thought I was going to Newport, Rhode Island ; and that 
she had gone there. She said I ought to have known 
better than to believe that Mrs. Arnold was employed 
by the President, and intimated that the former was in 
collusion with the. three male persons. 

These three persons were around me all this day, and 
as soon as I had gone to bed the succeeding night, they 
again commenced their disturbances. 

After this had continued some time, Miss Allen said 
that if I would go out and walk, thinking of her as be- 
ing powerful — as formerly of my father — she would kill 
these three individuals. 

The former "hilling" affair had never been explained. 
When I inquired about it, the reply had been that El- 
len was literally killed. At all events, I felt satisfied 
that by the operation — whatever it was — I had got rid 
of Ellen, for I had not heard from her since. I was 
therefore willing to go out and walk, if that would rid 
me of these; but it seemed rather hopeless for Miss 
Allen to undertake the task — one female against three 
men; and her magnetic power was so much less than 
Ellen's, that I had always thought of her as being com- 
paratively feeble. 

She now told me that although her power with my- 
self was weak, in her own world she was powerful, and 
she would therefore be so in a contest with these per- 



author's narrative. 49 

sons ; and if I would think of her as such she could kill 
them. 

I thought that at all events a walk would enable me 
to sleep better, and went out and walked on the bluff. 
It was a fine moonlight night, and I walked nearly an 
hour, when Miss Allen said one of the three was dead, 
and another had left. 

On returning to my room, I was informed that Miss 
Allen was so exhausted that she was dying. I supposed 
that it was herself that so told me ; but in a few minutes 
she informed me that another person had temporarily 
got the control, and tried to make me believe she was 
dying. She said she was not injured at all; 

Next morning Mrs. Arnold told me that she had been 
acting with the party opposed to the President, but she 
was satisfied they could not succeed, and was going to 
leave them; and she took, as I supposed, her final leave. 

But from this time there was always one, or more,* 
of the other world constantly with me, who appeared to 
be opposed to Miss Allen and her party. I was told 
there was an opposition party organized to prevent the 
success of the President's party, and that they had now 
employed females in place of the males, as the former 
had more power with me — to stay constantly with me, 
and do all they could to prevent the President's party 
having free communication with me, and in every way 
possible to embarrass them. 

But few of the other world visited me at Long 

* It is impossible for me to distinguish whether there are more than 
two present or not : hut of course if there is opposition in writing I 
know there are at least two ; and I was now advised to rely mainly on 
writing, as my thinking gave in this the control. 
5 



50 THE INVISIBLES. 

Branch; there were however two or three. Among 

them was a Mr. R , formerly of New York, with 

whom I had a very slight acquaintance. 

Shortly before going to Long Branch, Miss Allen had 

informed me that Mr. R was associated with the 

President in this matter; that he had left his family in 
rather needy circumstances; and that he, as well as the 
President, wished his daughter (a young lady whom I 
had met, but with whom I had no particular acquaint- 
ance), to be associated with me. . 

Their idea appeared to be this; that I would yet be 
induced to take rooms and act as a public medium; that 
I would be visited by a great many ladies, and it was 
proper there should be a lady to receive them. 

I could see no propriety in this suggestion, as I 
stated to Miss Allen; but she continued to urge it; and 

Mr. R came to Long Branch to see me upon the 

subject. 

I made some tests to ascertain how well those of the 
other world see objects in ours. I found that although 
they could write, they could not read writing; nor even 
the title page of a book. One day at Long Branch I 
requested Miss Allen to go and count a party of ladies 
and gentlemen; from my position I could not see how 
many there were. She gave me the number — six I think 
— and I then went and counted them, and found her 
correct. I have however made but few tests of this kind. 

On the 15th of August I returned to T . Soon 

after arriving: there I received a visit from one of the 
other world representing herself to be the daughter of a 
well-known citizen of the place. 

I was but little acquainted in T ; I had heard of 



author's narrative. 51 

the gentleman, but never seen him that I was aware of, 
and did not know where he resided. 

This person stated that his residence was opposite 
certain public grounds, in which, she said, she used to 
play when a child. She requested the privilege of 
accompanying me when I took a walk — as I was in the 
habit of doing every evening — and asked me if I 
would not walk in those grounds. I complied with 
her request, as in fact I was accustomed to walk in that 
direction. 

On inquiring next day, I learned that the gentleman 
resided where she stated, but that he had not lost any 
daughter. 

On telling the personator at her next visit what I had 
learned, she said she was the daughter of poor people 
of the place; and told me where they lived, but would 
not give the name. The locality she named was near 
the public grounds, but in an inferior street. 

Her reason for giving the name she did was, she said, 
that she feared if she told who she was, I would take no 
interest in her. 

About this time the "opposition" commenced the 
annoyance of frequently touching my lips. I did not 
mind it for awhile, but it was so frequent that it became 
at length excessively provoking. 

The President had not visited me at Long Branch, 
but now came again. He said he did not wish to do 
anything until I went to New York ; but that as soon 
as I went there the individuals who were annoying me 
would be removed by legal measures, if that course be- 
came necessary. 

On the 3d of September I went to New York, 



52 THE INVISIBLES. 

expecting to remain there during the fall and winter. I 
had been told that I would be relieved of the annoying 
individuals immediately upon my arrival. But under 
various pretexts, this was delayed from day to day, 
until, on the 14th of September, I was* unexpectedly 

obliged to return to T and remain there until the 

close of the month. 

I was now told by the President, that I would cer- 
tainly be relieved on my return to New York. 

One night, after my return to T , I had a slight 

attack, somewhat similar to that experienced in the 
spring. 

Some one of the other world that I supposed was the 
"opposition" tried to alarm me, and another to calm 
me. For some reason I had an impression — I hardly 
knew why — that the latter was not Miss Allen; and on 
inquiring, was told that Miss Allen was not present, 
but that another female had temporarily taken her place. 

This person refused to give her name. She said she 

had seen me at C , Ohio, but that we had not been 

acquainted. 

I returned to New York the 29th of September. 
Again there was procrastination in relieving me of the 
annoying individuals, the period for doing so being fixed 
several times a few days in advance, and various excuses 
given for the delay. 

At one of the President's visits, I asked him for the 
number of his former residence ; the street I had acci- 
dentally learned. The answer was, I found — although 
nearly correct — not entirely so. He then said the an- 
swer was not given by him, but by one of the opposing 
individuals. 



author's narrative. 53 

The power of the opposing party appeared to have 
increased so much, that it was now with difficulty that 
the President or Miss Allen could write, even with the 
aid of my thinking; and I could not place any reliance 
as to identity upon hearing, not being able to distinguish 
voices. I wished therefore that the " opposition" should 
be removed before they undertook to satisfy me as to 
their identity. 

I soon became convinced however that Miss Allen 
had never lived in New York. Until this time I had 
great confidence in her. 

Nothing being done towards "relieving" me, or in 
reference to the great scheme they had talked about, I 
became convinced that the pretended President and Miss 
Allen were impostors ; and this being the case, it was a 
reasonable inference, that all other names given, had 
been personations. 

I now doubted if I had ever received a communica- 
tion from any relative or friend in the other world. 

As my thinking appeared to have so much effect, I de- 
termined to sit and write for a short time every day ; 
fixing my mind first upon one, then another of my 
friends, until I got a satisfactory communication. 

When I commenced this practice, my father came — 
as represented — to identify himself. I had never at 

T made any "tests;" having at the time no doubt 

as to my relatives visiting me. 

My father, as I have stated, died w r hen I was young. 
The person professing to be him, now narrated several 
incidents of my boyhood, all of which had been known 
by my father. 

They were all incidents which I had not entirely for- 

5* 



54 THE INVISIBLES. 

gotten. I had thought of them many times since their 
occurrence ; but was not aware that I had thought of 
them since either of these beings of the other world had 
been with me. 

The test therefore was satisfactory. I was satisfied at 
the time that it was my father. He advised me not to 
sit and write when none of my friends — which included 
the President and Miss Allen — had anything to say, as 
it was injurious to my health to write so much ; and be- 
sides it increased the power of the opposing party, un- 
less Miss Allen constantly labored to prevent it. 

When writing in this way, there were always two 
hands grasping mine — at least this was the sensation ; 
one, the " opposition," trying to write ; the other, Miss 
Allen, trying to prevent it. 

The opposition would sometimes try to personate my 
friends, but always unsuccessfully. 

The President had stated as the cause of the delay, 
that they were expecting to get a Charter from their 
world ; or rather from their " Department" giving them 
exclusive control of communications through any me- 
dium they might find or develope ; the idea being still 
advanced that there was no other than myself with 
whom the better class could communicate. He had not 
anticipated any trouble in obtaining this, he said, but it 
was a new idea in their world, and they had met unex- 
pected difficulties. He did not wish to take any steps 
to remove the opposing party, until this charter was 
obtained. 

This statement was now confirmed by my father. He 
said that the charter would soon be granted, and ad- 



author's narrative. 55 

vised me to let the President have the management, as 
this would be for my interest. 
. I requested that a definite time should be named, when 
I might expect to be relieved ; which was done. 

It afterwards occurred to me as being very strange 
that my father should have happened to narrate only in- 
cidents which I had not forgotten ; especially as they 
were trivial j and when the time fixed for relieving me 
had elapsed, I concluded he had been personated, and 
the incidents obtained in some way from my mind. I 
therefore resumed the practice of writing as before. 

A person professing to be Mr. R , whose visit at 

Long Branch I have named, now came to identify him- 
self. 

I felt that if I could be certain any one whom I had 
known, and who was a respectable person, confirmed the 
story of these individuals claiming to be the President 
and Miss Allen, I could then have faith. But it was 
not solely or mainly the annoyance of the others that 
now made me discontented ; it was the doubt as to my 
having heard from my friends at all, and anxiety to 
hear from them. 

The person claiming to be Mr. E, , said he had 

heard I was becoming uneasy, and that he had come to 
identify himself. As a proof of his identity, he men- 
tioned his visit to me at Long Branch. 

I replied that I thought it very probable he was the 
person who had visited me there, but that was no evi- 
dence he was Mr. R . 

" Oh well, I will satisfy you of that," he said; and he 
then narrated an incident which did satisfy me. 

I had been out one evening, and on the way to my 



56 THE INVISIBLES. 

hotel, stopped at a saloon for a glass of ale. And in 

the saloon I saw Mr. R . The fact of stopping at 

the saloon, and seeing him, had made no impression on 
my mind, and I had entirely forgotten the circumstance. 

But Mr. R now not only mentioned my calling 

at the saloon ; he also stated where I had been, with full 
particulars, which he said I had told him at the time. 

I could not recollect having had any conversation 

with Mr. R , or any other person in the saloon ; my 

impression was that I had taken a glass of ale, and left 
at once ; but I concluded the statement must be correct, 
and my memory defective. 

Another period was now named — the time I don't 
recollect — within which their charter would be obtained. 

That period also elapsed, and although Miss Allen 
endeavored to explain the delay, the more I reflected 

upon the incident purporting to be given by Mr. R , 

the more convinced I became that I had no conversation 
whatever with him in the saloon. 

I concluded that either I must for many years have 
been followed by one of these beings ; or else that every- 
thing of which we have ever been conscious, made an 
impression on our memory which they were able to 
read. 

I again resumed writing, and continued it for some 
time without any special result : Miss Allen constantly 
" holding on," to prevent, and the other party trying to 
write. 

This made it mostly "scribbling;" occasionally Miss 
Allen would write a little, to induce me to stop ; and 
sometimes the opposing party would succeed in writing 
a few words ; but the latter were always of a trifling 



author's narrative. 57 

nature, and I gave them no attention, continuing to 
think of some friend. 

About the middle of November, my father — as rep- 
resented — came again. He now stated that the Presi- 
dent's party had failed to get the Charter, but that they 
had obtained a "Decree of the Court" authorizing him 
(my father), to appoint a certain number of persons, who 
should have the management in my individual case ; and 
he said he should appoint the President and his associ- 
ates, as tfley would be of more benefit to me than any 
other party. 

He stated that he was to render his decision to the 
court on the first Monday in December : and that I 
might expect to be " relieved," and free communication 
opened with his world in about a week from that date — 
or, by the second Monday in December. 

I made no further tests of identity, but concluded to 
wait patiently until the time named. 

Several days prior, to the expiration of the time above 
named, the President said they would like to have me 
go to England soon after being "relieved;" and a day 
or two after mentioning this, he came again, and advised 
me that a certain person, whom I will call the Duke, 
(though that was not the title), and who died in England 
in the year 1861, was coming to see me that evening at 
an hour named. 

He said the Duke wished me to go to England as 

soon as possible ; and it was desired that Miss R 

should go with me : that as a matter of propriety, a lady 
must accompany her, and he (the President) would like 
to have the daughter of an acquaintance of his, — a Mr. 
M go, but would prefer the suggestion should come 



58 THE INVISIBLES. 

from me. Therefore he requested, that when the Duke 

spoke about Miss R going, and asked me who I 

would like to have accompany her, that I would name 
the young lady he had designated. 

I did not like this proposition, and asked the Presi- 
dent what he expected me to say, in case the Duke 
inquired if she was an acquaintance of mine, and why 
I proposed her. 

"In that case," — the President replied — "tell him 
that I suggested her." 

I saw no particular objection to this, and consented to 
do as requested. The gentleman whose daughter the 
President named, is a well-known banker in New York, 
but I have no acquaintance with him — don't know that 
I ever saw him — nor whether he has a daughter. 

The Duke came at the hour appointed, and at once 
entered upon the subject of my going to England, and 

Miss R going with me ; and asked who I would 

prefer to accompany her. 

As requested by the President, I proposed the daugh- 
ter of his friend ; provided of course I went, as to which 
I had not decided. 

The Duke said he got the impression from my man- 
ner of proposing the lady, that there was something 
wrong, and made inquiries as to my acquaintance with 
her. 

I then told him that I had no acquaintance with her, 
and that she had been proposed by Mr. G . 

He intimated that he was very much dissatisfied with 
my course in the matter ; and I in turn became' vexed ; 
for I could see no propriety in the President's asking 
me to propose the lady, nor much in the Duke's remark* 



author's narrative. 59 

upon the subject. I told the latter, that if he was dis- 
satisfied, he had better drop the subject of my going to 
England at once, for that I had no particular desire 
to go. 

After a short interval, he said he had got the impres- 
sion from my manner that the lady was a bad character, 
but that the matter had been satisfactorily explained by 
Mr. G . 

I then wanted to know the object in taking Miss 

R , telling him it had not been explained to me, 

and that I could perceive none. 

He said he wished, if possible, to accomplish his 
object quietly, and without being compelled to resort to 
legal measures; and the idea conveyed by him was, 

that Miss R , aided by the influence and instructions 

of himself and others of his world, would be able so 
completely to captivate a certain gentleman in England, 
(who by the way is a married man), that he would con- 
sent to the proposition made him. 

This being the scheme, it would seem hardly worth 
while that the Duke should be so very particular about 
Miss R 's companion. 

The Duke then narrated a very strange story, and 
ended by making a proposition, which if carried out 
would be of great importance to myself, but a direct 
fraud upon another party. 

I told him I was unwilling to enter into the scheme. 

He replied that he was very glad I had declined ; that 
he had only made the proposition as a test of my hon- 
esty, and that he would now tell me what he did wish 
to accomplish. 

The communication of the Duke was of such a nature 



60 THE INVISIBLES. 

that whether true or untrue it must be omitted. I can 
only state the purport, which was, that he had connived 
at a great wrong, and was now anxious to remedy his 
error. He wished me to go to England to enable him 
to do this, and proposed that I should remain there four 
years, though this was not essential. He stated what 
advantage I might expect to receive by going. 

If the statement as to the facts was correct, what he 
aimed at could undoubtedly be accomplished, and the 
accruing advantage to myself seemed probable; but I 
did not feel prepared to at once say I would go. 

Of course he did not expect that, even if willing to 
go, I would take any steps until fully satisfied as to his 
identity. 

The Duke stayed about two hours, and then made- an 
appointment for the next day. As soon as he left Miss 
Allen expressed great surprise, that I had not at once 
accepted his proposition. 

Next day the Duke came again according to appoint- 
ment. It was so difficult for him to write, in conse- 
quence of the opposing party, that I inquired why, if 
they had power to remove these at all, they did not 
bring force enough to keep them away from me while 
he was writing. 

Miss Allen said, " We don't pull and haul as you do," 
and the reply was in substance, that they could not be 
removed until it was done permanently. 

The Duke now wished me to go to England, to reside 
there permanently; and made a magnificent proposition, 
but one which appeared to me very difficult of accom- 
plishment. 



author's narrative. 61 

He again stayed about two hours, and then made 
another appointment for next day. 

At his third visit, my father and mother — and I 
think sister — came with him. Only the two former 
wrote anything. 

The time within which I was to be "relieved" — as 
formerly stated by my father — expired this day, and he 
informed me I would be relieved that evening. 

The Duke next wrote for some time, and left without 
contradicting my father's assertion that I would be 
relieved that evening, or in fact, saying anything about 
it. 

Later in the evening, I was told that a party, inclu- 
ding the Duke and my father, had come to remove the 
opposing party; but that it would take some time to 
accomplish it; and I went to bed at my usual hour. 

And now — for the first time since the Long Branch 
affair — I experienced another night of disturbance. 

They continued talking and magnetizing me all night. 
It was stated that it was very difficult to remove the 
opposition; and finally, when I was so nearly asleep as 
to be incapable of reasoning, I was told that the oppo- 
sing party, as well as Miss Allen, had become physi- 
cally attached to me, in such a way that they could 
only be removed by killing them; Miss Allen, it was 
stated, had voluntarily attached herself to me in this 
way, to protect me against the others; knowing that she 
would have to be killed as well as the others when they 
undertook to remove the latter. 

In my half-sleeping, half-waking state, I had a hor- 
rible imagination of invisible ligaments attaching these 
beings to my person. 
6 . 



62 THE INVISIBLES. 

In the morning, thinking over the events of the 
night, in connection with my past experience — the im- 
probable story of the pretended Duke, and his brilliant 
promises at his second visit — I concluded the devils 
were all in collusion, and that they were trying to make 
me crazy. 

I told Miss Allen this was my belief. She replied 
that if I lost confidence in her, I would become de- 
ranged. 

A little reflection convinced me, that whatever her 
object might be, it was nothing of that kind; and that 
there was real opposition among these beings. 

The Duke came again in the afternoon, and said he 
had forgotten when leaving the preceding evening that 
I expected to be relieved that night, and therefore had 
said nothing about it. Their arrangements, he said, 
were not entirely completed. He confirmed the state- 
ment Miss Allen had made, that the opposition had 
taken advantage of my expectancy to create the disturb- 
ance. Miss Allen said she had tried during the night 
to undeceive me, but was unable. 

As there had been opposition during the night, I 
thought this explanation might be correct. 

I procured what information I could about the 
Duke, and found that the statements purporting to come 
from him were correct so far as they related to that 
individual, but one or two statements relative to the 
family were incorrect.* 

* I could, however, understand — if his other statements were correct 
— why he should be reluctant to give full particulars as to the family, 
until I had decided, with the assent of my friends in his world, to go 
to England. 



author's narrative. 63 

Evidently, however, the person claiming to be the 
Duke knew more about him than I did, and more than 
most persons in this country. 

After waiting awhile, finding nothing was done to- 
ward relieving me, I again resorted to writing while 
thinking of my friends; rather irregularly, however, for 
I was becoming discouraged. 

It was about this time that I first discovered the 
power these beings possessed over my mind. 

They not only could influence my mind to believe 
their assertions; (it seemed to me that I could literally 
feel this influence), but they also had power to prevent 
my reasoning, or thinking clearly upon the subject. 
When I would attempt to reason about the probability 
of their assertions, or to compare them with their past 
statements, there would be a .pressure, or what felt like 
such, exerted upon my brain ; making it almost impos- 
sible to think clearly upon that subject, but the moment 
my attention was directed to ordinary affairs, my mind 
would be as clear as usual. 

As soon as I noticed this fact, fearing permanent 
injury to my brain, I adopted the expedient of not 
thinking at all at the time of the communication, but 
simply noting it, and reflecting upon it afterward. 

Various expedients were now resorted to by Miss 
Allen to keep me quiet; and sometimes with success for 
several days at a time. Sometimes a week or two 
would elapse without my writing at all; and the con- 
stant talking of the opposing party had been so annoy- 
ing, that I had endeavored to extinguish, at least 
temporarily, the faculty of hearing them. With Miss 
Allen's assistance, I had as I believed, partially sue- 



64 THE INVISIBLES. 

ceeded in this. Although knowing that Miss Allen 
was a great liar, I did not at this time think she was 
disposed to annoy me, or to have me annoyed by 
others. 

She one day — about the 1st of March, 1865 — an- 
nounced a visitor — before giving the name — by paying, 
"A lady has called to see you, who says you once 
requested her to purchase a moire antique dress for an 
acquaintance of yours living in the country; and she 
thinks it very strange, that after asking her to make 
the purchase, you did not give her money for the pur- 
pose." 

This was not precisely correct, though very nearly so. 

I had mentioned to the lady — whose acquaintance I 
had made in New York — that an acquaintance of mine 
wished me to send her a dress of the kind, and she had 
offered to make the purchase. The conversation had 
taken place seven or eight years previous, and I had not 
seen or heard of the lady in the past five or six years. 
I may as well mention here, that without taking any 
particular trouble, I afterward learned she was still liv- 
ing in our world, but not in New York. 

I at first thought it must be the lady, notwithstanding 
my past experience in tests of this kind ; but on reflec- 
tion I was aware that I had thought of the conversation 
since its occurrence. 

Before this, I had come to the conclusion that the 
only way to test*he identity of individuals of the other 
world, was to have them give some information regard- 
ing themselves of which I had never been possessed, 
and then ascertain its correctness. 

Even this I felt would not be infallible, for the person 



author's narrative. 65 

claiming to be the Duke had done this; but a reason- 
able amount of this kind of evidence I thought would 
satisfy me. 

The Duke could give no more evidence of this kind, 
as to which I could ascertain the correctness. Neither 
the President or my relatives could give any, without 
rendering it necessary that I should make personal 
inquiries, or write to C , Ohio, which I was not in- 
clined to do. 

But one day, some time after the first visit of this 
lady, during a visit of the pretended Duke and Bank 
President, it was stated that this lady was also present. 

It occurred to me that there was one test of her iden- 
tity I could easily make. She had a brother residing 
in New York, — a well-known citizen — with whom I 
was not acquainted. I knew in what avenue he resided, 
but not the locality. 

I now asked the person professing to be the lady, to 
give the number of the gentleman's residence; or if she 
could not do that, to state between what cross streets it 
was situated. 

It was then admitted that the lady was not present ; 
and the person claiming to be the Duke, said, that as I 
was so very mipatient, he would relinquish the manage- 
ment, and let my father take charge. 

He said that I was acting contrary to my own inter- 
ests ; that he was the Duke, and that he could perceive 
I had doubts myself as to whether he might not be that 
person. 

It had been admitted some time previous to this that 
the "Decree of the Court" was a fiction, that none of 
my relatives, and in fact none other than the party con- 

6 * 



66 THE INVISIBLES. 

nected with the Duke and President — aside from the 
opposing party, — (and I believe the." opposition" was 
now reduced to a single person), had been to see me. 
The pretended visits of my father, mother and sister, 
were admitted to have been personations ; but all "for 
your own good," it was said, a favorite expression of 
theirs — this and, " It will all be explained when you are 
relieved," being frequently used. 

The difficulty was now stated to be with my father. 
He knew, they said, that I was a medium, but not where 
I was, and could not find me. He was selfish, they 
added, wanting to have the management himself, which 
would be against my interest. 

I had requested that my father and other friends be 
brought, and I relieved from the other invisible beings, 
so that I could have free intercourse ; then I could de- 
cide for myself as to who should have the management. 

They had replied to this, that they wished to spare 
me the pain of deciding against my father ; and that if 
I would give them a little time, they would be able to 
make some arrangement with him. 

When the person claiming to be the Duke, now pro- 
posed relinquishing the management, and letting my 
father take charge, I told him that I did not feel posi- 
tive as to his not being the Duke ; but that if he would 
bring my father, I would be content to forego any ad- 
vantage I might otherwise have received ; and the un- 
derstanding was that he should at once be brought. 

Miss Allen now requested that I would have my fa- 
ther employ her in the business. In what way she 
wished to be employed, she did not at this time state, 



author's narrative. 67 

but some time afterwards she said she washed to be em- 
ployed as a messenger. 

She acknowledged having lied a good deal, and prac- 
ticed much deception, but, " only for your good" she 
said. 

I told her I would give her case as favorable a con- 
sideration as possible ; but that I could not decide in the 
matter until I understood all the facts. 

That was all she asked, she stated ; that she should 
have a fair hearing. 

But my father was not brought, and in a day or two 
after the agreement to bring him, Miss Allen informed 
me that the Duke had decided not to relinquish the en- 
terprise. 

The annoyances being continued every night, I be- 
came suspicious that Miss Allen had something to do 
with this ; although she constantly affirmed that it was 
the opposing party, and that she did all she could to 
protect me. 

Every night on going to bed, I had to place my hand 
on my mouth, and hold it there until I fell asleep, to 
prevent their touching my lips ; even then, I could feel 
the magnetism on my tongue. This was not the worst ; 
my person would frequently be magnetized all night ; 
so that it was almost impossible to sleep ; and I again, 
for the first time since the "killing" of Ellen, — began 
to feel considerable concern ; not as to their directly kill- 
ing me, but lest I should be worn out from loss of sleep. 

When Miss Allen informed me that the Duke had 
changed his mind, deciding not to relinquish the busi- 
ness, she admitted the Bank President was a persona- 
tion ; that Mr. G had never visited me ; and she 



68 THE INVISIBLES. 

further admitted that the Duke had sometimes been per- 
sonated when he was not present, but affirmed that he 
had visited and conversed with me. 

I asked her which of the pretended visits she now 
claimed were real ones ; if the first two were the ones ; 
for I thought if he had conversed with me at all, it 
must have been on those occasions. 

This question she declined answering. 

No reason was now given for the delay, other than the 
very stupid one, that an arrangement could not be made 
with my father. I therefore continued my writing, al- 
though having no encouragement to do so, except the 
fact that Miss Allen tried to prevent it. Her constant 
and strenuous efforts in this direction, both by holding 
my hand, and using various expedients to dissuade me, 
caused me to .suspect she had some other reasons for her 
course, than those she gave. 

On Sunday morning, May 21st, Miss Allen informed 
me that the Duke was coming to see me that afternoon 
at three o'clock ; and she said she would bring Mr. 

E, , who she still affirmed was connected with them ; 

and that I might test his identity in any way I pleased. 

I therefore made a memorandum of several questions 
— such as I could most easily ascertain the correct an- 
swers to. I was aware that Miss Allen would know what 
questions I had prepared, but it did not occur to me that 
she could obtain the correct answers. 

Before the hour named for the meeting, Miss Allen 

informed me that Mr. E. could not be present. She 

said he thought that he had sufficiently identified him- 
self, and that it was not convenient for him to come 
that day. 



author's narrative. 69 

The Duke came at the hour named, and with him a 
person that had not before visited me, whom I will call 
Mr. Y . 

This gentleman had been the senior member of a 
prominent banking-house in Wall street, New York ; 
with whom I had a very slight acquaintance. He had 
died about four years previous.* 

Mr. Y had very little to say; I think it was 

represented that he was now connected with the Duke ; • 
but the ostensible object of this meeting I don't recollect. 

After the Duke had finished writing, I was told that 

Mr. R, had decided to come; that he was present 

and I might test his identity as proposed. 

Mr. R, had been in business in .Broadway, his 

store being located about one mile from my hotel. 

He had sold out and retired from business some time 
before his death. 

The first two questions on my list were as to the 
number of the store, and name of his successor. 

It was with the greatest difficulty this person could 
write, and therefore when I had got answers to these 
two, I decided to postpone the remaining questions. 

I knew in what block the store was situated, and on 
going to the office of the hotel and examining the Direc- 
tory, I found no such name as that given (only the 
surname was given), for the successor, in that vicinity ; 
and looking in the street Directory, I found the number 
given was in the next block south of that in which Mr. 
R 's store was situated. 

* I could not conveniently test the identity of this person, but should 

probably have attempted to do so if I had not been told Mr. R 

had come. 



TO THE INVISIBLES. 

Miss Allen asked how near he had come to the correct 
number; and when I told her that the number given was 
not in the same block, she tried to make me believe they 
could not recollect such things ; but without success. 

About an hour later she made an effort — without say- 
ing anything — to influence my mind. I can't explain 
the feeling, or how I perceived that a foreign influence 
was being exerted upon my mind ; but I did perceive 
this, and told her it would be of no avail to make the 
effort. The influence then instantly ceased. 

Before retiring for the night, Miss Allen said that she 
would now tell me the whole truth in reference to my 
experience with herself and others of her world. Her 
narrative was as follows : — 

" My name was Annie Morford. I lived at A ,* 

New York, and am an aunt of Mrs. B . My death 

occurred about five years since. At a visit of Mr. B 

to A since my death, I was there, saw him and fol- 
lowed him to New York, where I saw you. I perceived 
that you could be made a medium, and for this purpose 
brought Ellen who had more magnetic power than 
myself. 

" My object was to communicate through you with 

Mr. and Mrs. B , but Ellen, who had the control, 

preferring personations and deception, would not allow 
me to do so. I then brought Mrs. Arnold to assist me, 
but she proved as deceptive as Ellen, and sided with her. 

Finally I entered into the scheme of Mr. Y and 

Mr. M ,f who personated the Bank President, and 

* Mr. B 's former residence. 

f The father of the young lady who was to accompany Miss R 

to England. 



author's narrative. 71 

the Duke. They first tried to obtain a Charter as stated ; 
failing in that, they have been trying to effect a negoti- 
ation with the Duke, substantially the same as that pro- 
posed to you in his name. They hoped the Duke would 
be able to get the Charter from his Department ; which 
is not the same as that in which you are now. The 
Duke has at one time thought favorably of the proposi- 
tion, but they have not been able to effect any satisfactory 
arrangement with him." 

Such was her story ; no mention was made as to the 
killing of Ellen, or what had become of her ; and it did 
not occur to me to inquire. 

Miss Allen (I may as well continue this name) now 
promised to bring my father next morning at nine 
o'clock, and again requested that she might be employed ; 
to which I made the same reply as before. 

I went to bed in the full belief that the Duke, as well 
as the Bank President had been personated at each 
pretended visit. But at the instant of waking next 
morning, my mind was fixed upon this subject ; and I 
perceived, as I thought clearly, that it must have been 
the Duke, himself, that had conversed with me. I was 
aware that Miss Allen was influencing my mind, but 
only, I thought, that I might perceive the truth; and 
when she asked in a few minutes after I woke — if I 
would give them three days more ; that is, if I would 
omit writing, thinking of my friends, for three days, — I 
agreed to do so. 

I can't give the reason for my faith in the Duke's 
visits, without stating the conversation; but when I 
reflected upon this, it sometimes seemed to me impossi- 



72 THE INVISIBLES. 

ble that he was personated the first two evenings when 
he was represented as present. 

Miss Allen admitted that Mr. R was not present 

on the preceding day, and that another person had gone 
to find the store; but again affirmed the fact of the 
Duke's visits, and that consequently her story of the 
preceding evening was mainly a fiction. 

When passing down Broadway this day, I looked for 

Mr. H 's late store, and the number that had been 

given for it. I found them similarly situated; being on 
the same side of Broadway, and each situated in about 
the centre of the block; the number given being in the 
block next south of his store. And I now perceived 
the name which had evidently been attempted to be 
written. It was a name of five letters, the first four of 
which had been given correctly, but the last letter was 
incorrect. The name however was not over the number 
given, but over the adjoining store. 

Miss Allen said the mistake in the final letter of the 
name was caused by the interference of the opposing 
party, which seemed probable; but the blunder of giv- 
ing a name that was over one store, and a number that 
was over the adjoining one, she could only explain as 
being a mistake of the person that went to find the 
store. This it was thought could be done, she said, by 
getting the location from my mind ; at another time it 
was stated that I had noticed the store when passing a 
short time previous, and one of them being with me at 
the time, had observed it, and thought he could find it 
again. 

The three days, asked for by Miss Allen, and a week, 
passed, and nothing was done. 



author's narrative. 73 

On the evening of the succeeding Sunday, (May 
28th), I concluded to see if I could not learn something 
from the opposing party. 

She had occasionally been able to write a sentence or 
two, but it was never anything sensible; there being 
a marked difference in this respect between her and Miss 
Allen. 

I now decided however to give her a fair trial. 

On getting, for the first time, a description of her per- 
son, that I might think of her correctly, I found it was 
a girl about fifteen years of age. 

As soon as I commenced writing, I felt a sort of 
dread, or horror stealing over me, which I supposed was 
caused by Miss Allen to make me stop. 

The young girl was scarcely able to write at all, but 
I persevered for more than half an hour. 

I had some time previous inquired of the pretended 
President, or Duke, why — if they really had any such 
scheme as represented, and my friends did not know 
where I was — this opposing person did not bring them, 
and thus secure their favor; and the answer was, that 
she could not leave; they were keeping her a prisoner 
near me, this being the most convenient place. 

The substance of the girl's communication now was 
a confirmation of that statement. She said she was kept 
with me a prisoner; that if I would write, thinking of 
her, until she became en rapport with me, she could free 
herself, and would then go and bring my friends. 

I could see no sense in that, and stopped writing. 
But the terrible dread continued. It was not fear, for I 
would have continued the writing if it had appeared to 
be of any use. 
7 



74 THE INVISIBLES. 

It was entirely an affection of the nerves, which the 
will had not power to overcome. Probably no other 
person in our world has ever experienced anything like 
it; at least not to the same extent. Miss Allen admitted 
she had caused it, of course for my good. I did not get 
over this horror until I had gone to bed and fallen 
asleep. 

Two or three days after this, Miss Allen explained — 
what had always been a mystery to me — the frequent 
suggestion that Miss R was to be in some way con- 
nected with me. The explanation was, that they wanted 
to make a medium of her. 

Miss Allen now stated that neither the Duke nor Mr. 

Y had visited me; and again affirmed substantially 

the narrative she had given in the evening after trying 

to find Mr. R 's store; except that she now stated 

the personators of the Duke and Bank President, were, 
the first an Englishman, and the latter a person who 
had lived in New York; but neither of them being Mr. 

Y , or the other banker, Mr. M , whose name 

she had given that evening. 

Her two male associates now came — as represented — 
to see me, and stated that they had been trying to effect 
an arrangement with the Duke, which would have been 
of great advantage to me. But they had failed in their 
efforts, and would now bring my friends. 

They said Miss R could be made a medium like 

myself; one with whom the higher class of their world 
could communicate; and they requested that I would 
aid in developing her. She would be under the charge, 
they said, of Mr. Y ; another gentleman whom they 



author's narrative. 75 

named, with whom I had been acquainted at C — — , 
Ohio, and her father. 

I asked them what course they expected me to take; if 
they expected I would call on the lady, and propose de- 
veloping her. 

They replied that they did not expect anything of the 
kind ; that soon after I became known as a medium, a 
respectable gentleman would make the request on her 
behalf. I inferred the lady would be influenced to make 
the request. 

I then told them that I certainly should never aid in 
placing any person — and especially a female — in the po- 
sition in which I was ; that the persons named as the 
ones to have charge, I should have had confidence in, 
if they were still in our world, but that I could give no 
decision in a matter of this kind, until after having had 
for some time free intercourse with my friends and ac- 
quaintances in their world. 

The truth is, Miss Allen had given me cause for sus- 
picion that Mr. Y had been connected with the 

matter all along, and I had begun to think that some 
persons underwent a great change for the worse, after 
death. 

When these .persons left, they promised that my 
friends should be brought, and the question of assisting 
in the development of another medium left to my fu- 
ture decision. But my friends were not brought. 

Being convinced that our atmosphere was dark to be- 
ings of the other world, it appeared to me quite proba- 
ble that Miss Allen and her associates told the truth 
when they stated that I had been seen by very few of 
their world. And it also seemed probable that as so 



76 THE INVISIBLES. 

many spiritualists had passed into the other world, some 
of them would occasionally revisit the mediums and 
"circles" where they had been in the habit of meeting 
and where they knew their friends of our world still 
met. I thought they would feel interest enough to come, 
even if unable to communicate with their friends ; and 
was satisfied they could see well enough to find any fa- 
miliar locality. 

I therefore now determined to commence visiting me- 
diums and circles ; hoping that I might thus be seen by 
some of the better class of the other world, and intelli- 
gence of my situation be conveyed to my friends. 

I had no acquaintance at present with any spiritual- 
ists in New York ; the party with whom I had formerly 
visited mediums having all left the city. So far I had 
said little about my situation. To the physician, and 
one or two acquaintances who had visited me the night 

when I was so ill at T after the " killing" of Ellen, I 

had said something upon the subject. The physician 
informed me, when I had recovered, that I had suffered 
a slight sun-stroke the morning I took a walk, and was a 
little " wild," 

I reflected that if our positions were reversed, I should 
undoubtedly entertain the same opinion in reference to 
him, and did not think it worth while to contradict him. 

The letters to my brother at C , inquiring about 

the deaths there, seemed to require explanation, and a 
short. time previous to the date of which I am now writ- 
ing, having become doubtful if I should ever know any 
more about the subject until after my own death, I had 
written him as brief an explanation as possible. 

Of course he also, being an utter disbeliever in spiritu- 



author's narrative. 77 

alism, concluded that I was laboring under some de- 
rangement of the physical system. 

Besides these parties, I had said nothing whatever to 
any person about my situation. 

It was about the 1st of June, when I came to the 
determination to visit circles for the purpose named, and 
I concluded to commence, by visiting on the succeeding 
Sunday, one of the spiritualists' meetings, which were 
advertised every Saturday in the newspapers. 

I had occasionally visited these meetings several years 
previous, during the investigations referred to in the 
commencement of this narrative, but found them neither 
instructive nor entertaining. The addresses, at least a 
large portion of them, are stated to be delivered under 
" inspiration ;" many of them being by females ; and of 
all the many stupid "lectures" that I have listened to, 
these "spiritual" ones are the most vapid. It is possi- 
ble some of them may be inspired by a being about on 
an intellectual level with Ellen. I determined now 
however to go simply with the object named, and if I 
found this of no avail, then to visit circles. 

But on the next Sunday morning, I received informa- 
tion which made necessary an immediate return to 
T , and I left New York the same day. 

Shortly after returning to T , Miss Allen's male 

associates again visited me, and renewed the request that 
I would agree to assist in the development of another 
medium ; to which I made the same reply as before. 

Some time after this, I requested Miss Allen to give 
me an explanation as to how I differed from other me- 
diums ; and how she and her associates differed, as she 
pretended, from those who could communicate with 



lii THE INVISIBLES. 

other mediums. I had asked this before, and she had 
replied as usual, " It will all be explained when you are 
relieved." She now said she would explain the matter. 

Her explanation was simply that the lower class of 
the other world were more magnetic than the higher 
class; therefore the former could communicate with per- 
sons whom the latter could not influence. 

She had stated formerly — or at least I had so inferred 
— that the object of herself and male associates, was 
partly a pecuniary one ; that this was their object in 
wishing to develop another medium. I now asked 
again, if this was so, why did not the opposing party or 
some other one, (for she stated I had been seen by 
many of the lower class), bring my friends, and thus 
secure some advantage to themselves. 

She replied that making money, as we called it, was 
not what they were aiming at ; it was more like what we 
called office, or distinction : which the low beings knew 
they could not possibly attain. 

Recollecting Ellen's magnetic power, Miss Allen's 
explanation relative to other mediums seemed plausible 
in all but one point : this was relative to reading. I 
asked her how it was, that while she could not read 
writing at all, others could read sealed letters ; — for ex- 
ample, those sent to mediums from a distance ; — was this 
merely owing to the fact that the lower class were more 
magnetic? She replied in the affirmative. 

After thinking a short time, I told her this could not 
be the true explanation; that I was satisfied she was 
lying again ; and she admitted she had not given the 
correct explanation, but declined doing so. 

I then asked again, as I had often done before, what 



author's narrative. 79 

was the use of so much lying ; telling her it appeared to 
me that it was almost impossible for either her or her 
associates to tell the truth ; at least lying seemed to be 
more natural to them than telling the truth, for they 
would lie when I could see no possible motive for doing 
so. 

She replied "I did it/' (i. e., gave a false explanation), 
" to make you stop writing ; I would do anything to 
make you stop writing." 

While at T I wrote out a narrative of my expe- 
rience with these beings — not for publication, but to 
preserve for my own future reference. I had however 
another object. I wished to compare the various inci- 
dents and sayings of these persons that I might form an 
opinion as to whether they really had any scheme, or if 
it was all merely the trifling of two or three females ; 
for I could hardly conceive it possible that men, well 
informed — as these persons evidently were — could be 
such triflers. I thought that if any men were concerned, 
and they had any scheme, the matter would some time 
terminate; either by their success, or abandonment. 

Aside from the occasional persecution — which at this 
time w T as intermitted — the constant presence of these 
beings, day and night, had become extremely irksome ; 
and if there was no scheme whatever, I saw no certain 
prospect of being relieved from them until by death. 

On reviewing my intercourse with them, I soon be- 
came convinced that at least one of the party was a man. 
The reply of the personator of the Bank President, 

when I told him a Mr. N was now president, was 

not such as would be made by a female knowing nothing 
about such matters. 



80 THE INVISIBLES. 

At one of his first visits, I had asked him about their 
employments ; if they were similar to ours. He replied 
they were not. " For example," he said, " we have no 
rail-roads or canals ; no labor-saving machinery of any 
kind ; and you will see what a difference that fact alone 
must make in our employments." 

These and other remarks which I recalled, were not, I 
was satisfied, made by a female. I don't mean to say 
they could not have been ; but some of them were made 
when the speaker was not " on- guard" as I may ex- 
press it. 

As to there being any scheme, it was difficult to form 
an opinion. There seemed no reason to doubt that they 
were at first anxious to have me go as soon as possible 
to New York, and act as a medium ; but when I had 
gone there, they were equally desirous of preventing my 
acting as such ; and in this latter respect my case differed 
entirely from that of other mediums, for through the 
latter some one of the other world was always ready to 
communicate. 

Then as to the Duke, if that was a personation, it 
differed in manner from the others. The testing my 
honesty, and apparent hesitation about telling his story, 
seemed altogether too real to be a personation. 

In reviewing the occurrence at Long Branch, I for the 
first time perceived, that either Miss Allen and Mrs. 
Arnold were one and the same person, or else they were 
in collusion. The story the former told about going to 
Newport, I had now no faith in. I was inclined to the 
opinion that the two names were given by the same 
person, although two very different characters were well 
sustained. Mrs. Arnold was all nonsense and trifling, 



author's narrative. 81 

while Miss Allen appeared to be a "strong-minded" wo- 
man, having a definite object in view. As to the object 
of the Long Branch affair, however I could form no 
conjecture, and now asked Miss Allen what the object 
was. 

She said the personator of the President wished to 
test whether I would leave him in case I received such 
an offer from other parties ; he had therefore allowed 
others to make the offer, and they had got for awhile 
the control, so that she was unable to prevent the an- 
noyance. 

The idea of making a test of that kind seemed to me 
rather silly. 

As to what had become of Ellen, I could get no satis- 
factory explanation. For some time it had been asserted 
that she was actually killed; her death being precisely 
like our own; afterwards, finding I was incredulous 
upon that point they stated that they had effected a 
change in her, which they called killing, but that it was 
not like death with us. 

I returned to New York the 3d of October, and 
shortly afterward had interviews with two of the most 
prominent spiritualists in the city. 

One of these gentlemen believed that lying spirits 
did sometimes visit us, but had not the slightest doubt 
as to his having received truthful communications, and 
from the parties whose names had been given him. When 

I mentioned the personation of Mr. B at T , he 

still living in New York, the gentleman said the latter 

fact was no evidence of deception; that Mr. B 's 

spirit might have visited and communicated with me, 
although he was still in our world. The gentleman 



oZ THE INVISIBLES. 

believed that while one Mr. B was in New York, 

engaged in business or conversation, his spiritual body 
could, leave and also engage in conversation with me at 

T , then return (why, I could not perceive), and 

resume its former position; the Mr. B that re- 
mained in New York knowing nothing about the tem- 
porary absence of his spiritual body, and neither the 
spiritual or the natural body suffering any inconvenience 
from the temporary separation. This the gentleman 
stated was of frequent occurrence. 

It appears to me this theory supposes there to be in 
every person two beings, at least partially distinct, 

both in body and mind. For the Mr. B who 

remained in New York experienced no loss or diminu- 
tion of his thinking faculties during the absence of his 
spiritual body, and when I spoke to him of the visit, 
he was much surprised. 

This is certainly a strange theory. According to it 
there would appear to be no entire identity between the 
two beings, and the death of one body must, it seems to 
me, be the annihilation of one existence. 

This theory of a spiritual body, within what is called 
the natural body, is a universal one with spiritualists, 
and when they receive a communication from the other 
world, purporting to be from a person who they after- 
ward find is still in our world, this theory satisfactorily 
accounts for what would otherwise appear to be decep- 
tion. 

Swedenborg probably got the idea from the New Tes- 
tament and enlarged upon it. He could, as stated, go 
into the heavens and converse, not only with spirits but 
with the Lord. Our modern seers, who copy Sweden- 



author's narrative. 83 

borg even in the peculiar arrangement of his writings, 
visit, if their statements are to be believed, other pla- 
nets, and describe minutely their inhabitants. 

The second gentleman upon whom I called, believed 
in this theory of a spiritual body, but differed from the 
first on one important point. The second did not 
believe that lying communications were ever given by 
the spirits. 

"In an experience of thirteen years," he said, "I 
have never known an instance of the kind." And he 
requested that I would not accuse them of lying. 

He assumed that not only myself, but the many 
thousands, who have asserted that they received false 
communications from the other world were deceived in 
some other way. 

He said that he did not in the least doubt my state- 
ments; but when I mentioned being directed to the 

gentleman in the hotel at T , and being told of 

deaths of which I had not otherwise heard, he accounted 
for the* facts by saying that I had remarkable intuitive 
powers; that there having been such a death, I per- 
ceived the fact intuitively. 

Of the few persons with whom I have conversed on 
the subject, this gentleman was the worst deceived. I 
refer to the conversation to show how the subject has 
been investigated. 

I think, however, that but few spiritualists hold the 
opinion of this gentleman. Most admit that the spirits 
do sometimes lie; but all without exception, so far as I 
have conversed with them, believe that they have re- 
ceived truthful communications from departed friends. 

My belief at this time was that — from some cause 



84 THE INVISIBLES. 

which I did not understand — none but lying beings 
could communicate with us; and my conversation with 
these two gentlemen, confirmed me in my theory. 

My main object in calling on these gentlemen was to 
learn who they considered the most reliable medium; 
for I determined now to visit one for the purpose 
before named. As the first gentleman that I saw was 
now residing out of the city, I said nothing to him 
about this. 

The other gentleman informed me, that the lady 
named in the commencement of this narrative, as being 
the first real medium I had visited, was still considered 
the best, and I therefore called on her. 

The "spirits" were not very communicative through 
her. In reference to the constant contest of two oppos- 
ing parties in my case, the oracular communication was 
given. "This contest will soon cease;" nothing more 
was given. 

How the second spiritualist that I visited would re- 
concile even this brief communication through his*favor- 
ite medium with his theory, I am unable to perceive; 
for if I had direct communication with spirits, they had 
lied ; if I was not a medium at all, as he believed, 
they lied now. The latter was the fact in either case, 
for the contest has not yet ceased ; it being more than a 
year since the interview.* 

* I have stated that spiritualists universally believe that they receive 
communications from their friends in the other world. I am by no 
means sure, however, that mediums themselves, through whom messages 
are delivered for a great variety of persons, have not at least a sus- 
picion as to their genuineness. 

During my earlier investigations, I once asked a celebrated medium 
if he had ever received for himself a message purporting to be from a 
deceased friend, as to which he had no doubt. He replied frankly, 



author's narrative. 85 

I next visited a Mr. Conkling : a well-known writing 
medium ; but the " spirits" were not disposed to be more 
communicative through him. A brief communication, 
purporting to be from my mother, stated that she was 
unable to "control." Apparently she could "control" 
without difficulty, to say that she could not; but was 
unable to give any real information. 

I had not expected to learn anything through these 
mediums, having visited them as stated for another 
purpose. 

But no result followed, and I concluded it would be of 
no use to go any more. I had now done, I thought, all 
that could be done to solve the mystery that surrounded 
me, or to bring myself into communication with my 
friends in the other world. 

I now decided to cease entirely all writing or conver- 
sation with the " spirits ;" and so far as possible divert 
my mind from the subject, hoping that they would at 
length conclude to leave me. 

After several days' adherence to this purpose, I 
thought I was going to succeed in getting rid of them. 
The only annoyance I was subjected to now, was the touch- 
ing my lips when in bed ; and I had so long practiced 

that he never had. Yet he was daily delivering messages which satis- 
fied others. 

At the interview with the lady above referred to, I asked her the 
same question, stating my own belief. She said she thought she had 
received messages from her friends ; but spoke with some hesitation, 
as if having doubts. Her husband, who, though not a medium, must 
be very familiar with the subject, remarked, that if no medium had as 
yet got into direct communication with good and truthful spirits, 
perhaps some one hereafter would. A very significant remark, which in- 
duced me to think he had a pretty correct understanding of the sub- 
ject. 



86 THE INVISIBLES. 

placing my hand on my month when I went to bed, that 
it had become a habit. My mind was becoming diverted 
from the subject so far that it was only occasionally I 
thought at all of the "spirits." 

But on the evening of November 23d, I was sub- 
jected to a new, and more terrible trial, than any I had 
yet experienced. Formerly my person had been fre- 
quently magnetized so as to keep me awake most of the 
night. 

This time it was my brain. As soon as I laid down 
in bed, it seemed as though a powerful galvanic battery 
was placed in communication with my head, and the op- 
eration continued without a moment's intermission the 
whole night. Sleep was altogether impossible. 

I had a strong impression during this and subsequent 
nights, that my relatives were present, but having had the 
same impression before, did not attach very great im- 
portance to it. 

Next morning I received a letter from my brother at 

C , Ohio, informing me that another brother, who 

had been sick for some time, was much worse; and it 
occurred to me, recollecting my strong impression during 
the night, that this letter might have some connection 
with that affair. 

I thought that either my relatives might have been at 

C when the letter was written, and thus found me ; 

or if they had been with me previously, they might 
have known that I would receive the letter in the morn- 
ing, and wished during the night to influence me so far, 
that on reading the letter, I would decide to visit my 
brother at once ; which I did, as the letter conveyed the 
idea that it was very doubtful if he survived long. 



author's narrative. 87 

Magnetizing my head was continued every night dur- 
ing my visit at C , and after my return to New York, 

only about every alternate night, would I be able to 
sleep, and then not soundly. I took medicine prescribed 
to cause sleep, but it had no such effect. 

I made no inquiry about the matter of the invisible 
beings until after it had continued several nights. I then 
inquired of Miss Allen the cause. She said that when 
I had given up writing, she had left me for a short 
time, and thus the " opposition" had been able to get 
control. 

I knew that was false. Her statements sometimes 
aided me, as I thought, in guessing at the truth, by 
advising me what was not the truth; for before this 
period I had become satisfied that it was safe to assume 
that any statement made by her was not the precise 
truth. 

But her reply on this occasion gave me no light upon 
the subject. 

The operation continued with more or less intensity 
every night, though not so severely as at first. About 
the middle of January, (1866), I determined to try other 
mediums again. I thought it possible to at least learn 
the cause of this persecution. 

I first visited a room in Broadway, where I had 
learned various mediums assembled ; and found there an 
impressible medium, as they are called. These are a 
class of mediums whom persons of the other world can 
only communicate with by producing an impression 
upon their mind; not being able to write, rap, or tip a 
table, with them. 

My questions were, merely as a matter of form, ad- 



88 THE INVISIBLES. 

dressed to my father. I was satisfied it made no differ- 
ence who the question was addressed to; it would be 
answered by the person in control of the medium. 

The medium gave the name of my father, but that 
was all; she could not answer my questions, which, as 
the reader probably understands, were not shown to her. 
She said there were disturbing causes present which she 
did not understand; and — what was very unusual with 
her — she could get no distinct impressions. But she 
said if I would give her a sealed letter to take home, 
she would return me an answer. I gave her the sealed 
letter, but that she sent, purporting to be an answer, had 
no pertinency; not even the signature was now correct; 
initials only were given, and I did not recognize them 
as being those of any acquaintance. 

I next wrote a series of nearly a dozen interrogatories, 
which I thought it would be impossible to answer with- 
out giving some information, and at least a slight clue 
for the solution of the mystery. 

This letter I enclosed in a carefully sealed envelope, 
and left it with a Mr. Mansfield, a well-known medium 
for answering sealed letters. 

The letter was returned in a day or two, with the seal 
unbroken, accompanied by what purported to be an- 
swers to every interrogatory, written in the order of 
rotation in which the questions were given. But there 
was not the slightest information to be obtained from 
the replies. 

As this is a celebrated medium, I will give an extract 
from the communication. 

To the interrogatories as to why the spirits stayed 
with me, when I did not wish to hold intercourse with 



author's narrative. 89 

them; and why they annoyed me, the following replies 
were given. 

"Because they find in your magnetism something 
that attracts them; you do not desire them to come to 
you, and yet they do; alike attracts alike — be it in that 
or in this world. You desire not their counsels, and 
consider them fantastic spirits, — they feel indignant." 

All who have visited mediums, or read communica- 
tions made through them, will recognize the style. 

Even when they purport to come from persons the 
most distinguished for learning and talent when in our 
world, they are all substantially the same pompous non- 
sense. 

I never received anything quite so stupid even from 
Ellen; and Miss Allen always gave some plausible 
reason for her course, as any person of sense in our 
world would. 

The same annoyance continuing to some extent — 
though now greatly diminished — I determined one 
night — about the first of February — to make another 
effort the next day, to learn something from the young 
girl. It did not happen to be convenient to sit for the 
purpose until evening. 

When I then asked her, she as usual, promised to tell 
the truth. As I did not like to write much just before 
going to bed, I only asked her why it was that my 
friends could not communicate with me. 

Her reply, written with considerable difficulty, was, 
"Because they are so much better than you." 

Recollecting Miss Allen's former explanation as to 
why only the lower class of her world could communi- 
cate with other mediums, it struck me that the truth 



90 THE INVISIBLES. 

was contained in this reply; but it was so difficult for 
her to write, that I did not at the time seek further ex- 
planation. 

Next day, to test her veracity, I asked her if Miss 

Allen had been acquainted with Mr. B , and if so, 

to srive me her true name. 

Her reply was, that Miss Allen's true name was 

Ellen C ; that she had lived in S , N. Y., which 

she stated was near the city of A , where Mr. 

B had formerly resided; and she said that they had 

been acquainted. 

Miss C , alias Miss Allen, she said died about ten 

years previous. 

I now for the first time examined the map, and found 
she was correct as to the location of the village of 
S . 

Mr. B had, some time previous, learned of my 

inquiry as to his death, but I had not as yet explained 
the matter. I now did so, and asked him if he had been 

acquainted with a person of the name of Ellen C , 

residing at S . 

He replied that he had been acquainted with a young 
lady of that name, who resided near S , the resi- 
dence being between that village and the city of A- , 

where he resided at the time. He had not heard of her 
death, but did not recollect having heard anything about 
her within the past ten years. He afterward said that 
he was not sure the lady's first name was Ellen ; that 
she was usually called Nell, and what the first name 
really was he could not recollect. 

I stated the substance of what I had been told about 
himself, and localities in the vicinity of A , and al- 



author's narrative. 91 

though not heretofore a believer in spiritualism, Mr. 

B seemed now to think that the information must 

have been given me by one who had lived there and 
known him. At all events, he felt interest enough to 
write and inquire as to the lady's death. 

It was some time before the reply was received, and in 
the meantime, believing that the young girl had now de- 
cided to tell the truth, I sat down nearly every day to 
get an explanation of my experience. 

Her narrative contained some of the facts which will 
hereafter be given, but there were so many contradic- 
tions, and so much nonsense was mingled with plausible 
statements, that I became satisfied the narrative was 
mostly fictitious. 

For example, she stated that as soon as she saw me, 

which was shortly after my return to T in the spring 

of 1864, she at once brought my friends ; but afterward 
made a statement which contradicted this assertion. 
Then again, she repeated the nonsense about the efforts 
to obtain a " Charter," etc. 

And before her narrative was completed, Mr. B 

received the reply to his letter, which stated that Miss 

C had left S , but that she was living five years 

since, which was the latest intelligence the writer had of 

her ; and Mr. B now informed me that her first 

name was not Ellen. 

I could readily understand that the young girl might 
be unwilling to give the true nanie of Miss Allen, for 
fear that the latter would give her own ; but I asked her 
what motive she had in giving me a fictitious narrative 
— as she had not represented herself in a very favorable 
light. 



92 THE INVISIBLES. 

Her reply was to the effect that the Duke had finally 
succeeded in his scheme, that she wished to be connected 
with him, and that her object had been to produce as 
favorable an impression as possible in order to induce 
me to "kill" the power of Miss Allen. What the 
"killing" of Ellen was, she had explained in her nar- 
rative. 

I told her that I did not believe her story about the 
Duke, but that if she would give me a correct explana- 
tion of my experience, as well as of the phenomena 
called spiritual, I would try to kill the power of Miss 
Allen, by increasing hers. 

I thought. this young girl was not quite so much of a 
devil as Miss Allen, and that if I could get rid of the 
latter by increasing the power of the former, it would be 
a gain. 

The young girl again promised to tell the truth, and 
I commenced by endeavoring to get explanations of the 
phenomena. These were as much of a mystery to me 
as ever. I could not even understand how they wrote with 
my hand when they could not with another person's, nor 
how they talked with me when they could not with 
others. And I could see no reason why she should not 
be willing to at least explain the phenomena. 

Her explanations of the phenomena were about the 
same as those generally believed in by spiritualists, so 
far as the latter have any theory at all upon the subject,* 
but when I asked for minute particulars as to each phe- 

* The theory of spiritualists, that we have a spiritual body, which 
leaves the other body at death, was confirmed both by Miss Allen, for^ 
merly, and now by this young girl; but neither of them ever tried to 
make me believe anything quite so silly as the idea that the spiritual 
body could leave the other before death. 



author's narrative. 93 

nomenon, it became evident that she was again lying. 
Some of her explanations were rather ingenious, others 
quite absurd. 

I asked her if individuals of her world had power to 
move each other; " for example," I asked, "could my 
friends by physical force remove Miss Allen from my 
vicinity ?" 

She replied that they had such power, but that it 
would be a very tedious operation. The only operation 
in our world that she could compare it to, would be, she 
said, the building a railroad under her and moving her 
on that. 

Finding that no truth was to be obtained from this 
girl, and the annoyances during the night continuing to 
some extent, sometime in April, 1866, I determined to 
again try sitting and thinking of my relatives, while 
holding the pencil for writing ; for 1 had a strong im- 
pression that they must be present. 

I tried by thinking of several to ascertain if they were 
present, and if so, which had most power to write. 
There appeared to be most power when I thought of my 
father, and I was told to continue thinking of him. 

After my former experience, I did not think it worth 
while to institute any tests as to his identity, but con- 
cluded to rely upon the probability of the narrative 
which he was to give me. 

It took about a week for the person pretending to be 
my father, to give an explanation of my experience, in 
the most condensed form possible. It was somewhat 
similar to the narrative which will be given, and most 
of it, though not all, seemed highly probable. 

In reference to the occurrence on the night of Novem- 



94 THE INVISIBLES. 

ber 23d, 1865, it was stated that my father was first 
brought to see me at the third visit of the Duke, (who 
it was again stated had visited me), and that he had 
found my situation so unpleasant that he concluded to 
wait until I was relieved of those en rapport with me — 
meaning Miss Allen and the young girl — before bringing 
my mother, or telling her where I was; but that my 

mother being with my sick brother at C had found 

me by means of the letter which my other brother had 
written,* and which I received on the 24th of Novem- 
ber : and that it was her impetuosity which produced 
my distress on the above night. My father — or the one 
pretending to be him — stated that he had been gradually 
overcoming the power of Miss Allen and the young girb 
and would have entirely succeeded, without occasioning 
me any distress, but for the action of my mother; but that 
seeing I bore the distress so well, my friends had decided 
to continue the course taken by my mother; and that I was 
now almost ''relieved," and would be entirely by about 
the 1st of May. There was no power, he said, to re- 
move them by physical force; it could only be done in a 
mode similar to that by which I had got rid of Ellen. 

This explanation was the most improbable part of the 
narrative, but I had a strong impression that it was not 
written by my father. As however I was not asked to 
do anything, and it appearing to be impossible, if this 
was not written by my father, to learn anything, I con- 
cluded to wait patiently until the time named for reliev- 
ing me had expired. 

When the time named had expired, and I found that 

* The brother who was ill was in the house of the one that wrote 
the letter. 



author's narrative. 95 

these beings were still with me, for I could feel occa- 
sionally their magnetic touches; though the annoyances 
at night had nearly ceased, I felt I was destined to 
be cursed with their presence while I remained in this 
world; but why they remained with me I was utterly 
unable to conceive. 

I sat down — without thinking of any one in particular 
— to see what explanation would be given of this last 
personation, when some one wrote, " Now sir, you have 
been again deceived for your own good — ," and was 
proceeding to give some kind of an explanation, but I 
had heard enough about being deceived for my own 
good, and stopped the writing. 

The next day I again sat down to see what I could 
learn, when one who stated that he was the person that 
personated my father, now represented himself to be 

Mr. Y , the banker, which was the first time this 

individual had been represented as present since the 
preceding spring — about a year previous. This indi- 
vidual — purporting to be Mr. Y now made a state- 
ment very similar to that which Miss Allen had made 
on the Sunday evening in the preceding April, after the 

attempt to find Mr. R 's store, namely, that the 

Duke had not visited me, but that he, Mr. Y , was 

endeavoring to effect an arrangement with him (which 
was stated) which would be for my benefit ; and he said 
I must give him time to accomplish his scheme, even if 
it took a year longer ; and he advised me in the mean- 
time to stop writing entirely, and to engage in some kind 
of business which would fully occupy my time and 
thoughts, and divert my mind from this subject. 

This advice was directly the reverse of that which the 



96 THE INVISIBLES. 

personator of the Bank President (who I was now given 

to understand was Mr. Y ), and Miss Allen had 

given me when they first proposed my acting as a public 
medium. They then wished me to at once give up all 
other business. 

I asked this person — as tests of identity — two ques- 
tions, the correct answers to which I did not know, but 
Mr. Y would. The test would not have been en- 
tirely satisfactory, even if the answers had been correctly 
given, as they were known to many. But they were the 
only questions that occurred to me, the accuracy of the 
answers to which I could readily ascertain. One of the 
answers given — which could not have been guessed — I 
found to be correct, the other w r as not. 

I was satisfied the answers were not given by Mr. 

Y , but even if the person giving them had been 

really him, the idea that he had been so long a time 
endeavoring to effect some arrangement with the Duke, 
and now wanted a year longer in which to accomplish 
it, would have appeared very absurd, and I should have 

had no more confidence in Mr. Y than in Miss 

Allen or the young girl. 

But I knew that there must be some strong reason for 
the change in the conduct of these beings. During my 
earlier experience they wished to converse nearly all the 
time; now, Miss Allen at least, seemed to wish to stop 
all intercourse between her world and myself, and 
appeared to be staying with me for no other purpose. 
I had never heard of any other medium similarly sit- 
uated. 

The only cause that I could conceive of, for this course 
was, that my friends had found me, and were endeavor- 



author's narrative. 97 

ing to communicate with me, and I determined to make 
further efforts to learn if they were present. 

My father and sister had been many times personated, 
but I had been only told twice, so far as I could recol- 
lect, that my mother was present — once, the night after 
the killing of Ellen, and again, at what was represented 
to be the third visit of the Duke. 

It now occurred to me that there might be a reason 
for this — that perhaps my mother was the one having 
most power to communicate with me, and I determined 
to try more perseveringly than I had done, thinking of 
her, while holding a pencil for writing. 

I had not tried thinking of my mother with any 
perseverance, for the reason that as soon as I com- 
menced, some devil of the other world — represented by 
Miss Allen as being the opposition — would fill my mind 
— sometimes by speaking, sometimes by impression — 
with all sorts of obscene ideas. 

If I had then understood — as I ought to have done — 
how differently those of the other world view subjects 
which we consider it immodest to converse about, this 
would have given me little trouble. But, aside from 
this, I had not thought it probable that my mother 
would have as much power as my father. 

On Sunday, May 6th, I sat down to make the trial 
of thinking of my mother. As her death had occurred 
between six and seven years previous, I thought she 
could, if present and able to write at all, satisfy me as 
to the identity. 

Both the young girl and the subsequent personator of 

my father, had in their narratives stated that Mr. H 

was present when the incident which convinced me of 



98 THE INVISIBLES. 

the fact was given. I was satisfied this must be true, 
for from more than two years' experience I felt compe- 
tent to judge as to what they could, and what they 
could not, obtain from my mind. 

I now requested that my mother would, if present, 
narrate any trivial, unimportant incidents, such as 
would not be likely to have made any decided impres- 
sions on my mind. 

It was with the utmost difficulty that anything was 
written, but I at length became satisfied beyond all 
doubt, that my mother was present. 

As an illustration of what I shall have to say here- 
after about impressional apparitions, I will narrate one 
of the incidents as given. The following incomplete 
sentence was written : 

" I bought ***** ail d broke it the same day." 

That portion of the sentence for which asterisks are 
substituted, I could not read. It was mere scribbling, no 
words being formed at all. It is not essential, in order 
that I may understand the communication, that the 
writing should be very legible, or such as any other per- 
son could read, provided there is no interference. But 
the same power that by interfering prevents the writing, 
prevents my comprehending it when entirely illegible. 

After several unsuccessful efforts by the person trying 
to write, to state what the article was which had been 
broken, I saw, on raising my head after an attempt of 
the kind, apparently at the distance of about two feet 
from my eyes, suspended in the air, a familiar tea-pot — 
one which had been used in our family for many years. 
As I now saw it, there appeared to have been a small 
piece broken off the spout; but I could not recollect 



author's narrative. 99 

that the tea-pot had actually been broken in that way, 
nor could I perceive any connection between it and the 
unfinished sentence, for it certainly was not broken on 
the day it was bought. It had been in use a long time 
unbroken, and I could not recollect that it had ever been 
broken. 

At length there was brought to my recollection, 
another tea-pot entirely different both in shape and. 
color from the one which had been presented to my 
vision, which had been broken precisely as the first 
appeared to have been; and I now recollected that at 
the tea-table when the accident occurred, my mother 
remarked that she had purchased the article that day. 

It will be perceived that while this was an incident 
not likely to make any impression on my mind, it 
would probably have that effect on the mind of my 
mother. 

The vision was afterward explained as having occurred 
from the fact of my mother having the familiar tea-pot 
in her mind at the moment the impression was produced, 
although she knew it was not the one which had been 
broken. 

Becoming fully satisfied as to the presence of my 
mother, and her ability to write — though with great 
difficulty — I once more commenced the attempt to obtain 
an explanation of my experience with these beings. 

I was now informed that the young girl was assisting 
my mother, but understood that I was to continue 
thinking of the latter. 

On asking for the name and former residence of the 
young girl, I was told that they did not wish at present 
to give her name, but that she had lived and died at 



100 THE INVISIBLES. 

C , Ohio. Miss Allen, I was now informed, had 



never been acquainted with Mr. B , but got a few 

facts relative to him from another person. I did not 
therefore at this time make much effort to get her true 
name or former place of residence. 

So excessively 'difficult was it for my mother, assisted 
by the young girl, to write, in opposition to Miss Allen, 
that it took about three months, working several hours 
each day — as many as labor of this kind could be 
endured — to complete the brief narrative, the substance 
of which will follow this; and to partially explain the 
most prominent phenomena. 

When the narrative was finished, I was told that Miss 

Allen had been acquainted with Mr. B , she having 

lived at S , New York, and that her real name was 

Baldwin; and I was given to understand that the 
former statement, to the effect that she had not been 
acquainted with him, was made by her, she having tem- 
porarily got control. 

As this had frequently happened during the writing of 
the narrative — sentences being written which were after- 
ward contradicted — I thought the statement probable. 

On now asking if they were disposed to give the 
name of the young girl, I was told that they did not 
wish then to give it, but was informed that her first 

name was Julia, and that she had died at C , Ohio, 

about six years previous, (in the year 1860), aged about 
fifteen years. 

There appeared to me to be some slight inconsistencies 
in the narrative, but I supposed this was owing to the 
difficulty of writing and explaining, and upon the whole 
it seemed to me very truthful. 



author's narrative. 101 

I therefore proposed proceeding and getting a more 
full explanation of the phenomena than had yet been 
given me. But on sitting down for this purpose, I was 
surprised to find that the power of my mother to write, 
which had seemed to increase toward the close of the 
narrative, appeared to have almost entirely left her. It 
was impossible for some time to write a single word. 
On seeking for an explanation of this, I got the idea 
from a few words which were finally written, that the 

Duke and Mr. Y had been assisting my mother, 

but that when the narrative was finished they had in- 
sisted that I should at once aid them in developing Mrs. 

Y ; this my friends had opposed, and consequently 

the Duke and Mr. Y — : — had refused to assist any fur- 
ther, and it was impossible for my mother to write, even 
with the assistance of Julia, without their aid. The 

power of the Duke and Mr. Y , I had been told in 

the narrative, was owing to their having written consid- 
erable previous to the coming of my friends, and the 
consequent quarrel with Miss Allen. 

I had thought, previous to this, of publishing my 
narrative with the explanation, and also explanations of 
the several phenomena called spiritual, but on being told 
the above, and finding after several efforts that not an- 
other line could be written, I concluded to abandon the 
idea; for the phenomena, the explanation of which 
would be the most important part of the work, were 
as yet imperfectly understood by me, some not having 
been explained at all. 

When I was told that the real name of Miss Allen 

was Miss Baldwin, that she had lived at S and been 

acquainted with Mr. B , I wrote to this gentleman, 

9 * 



102 THE INVISIBLES. 

who was then residing out of New York, inquiring if 
he had been acquainted with such a person. His reply, 
received after the explanation given as to the loss of 
power by my mother, informed me that he had never 
known a lady named Baldwin at S . 

Evidently then that name was not given by my 
mother, for I was convinced that she would not, situated 
as I was, give me a name without being certain that it 
was the right one. 

After thinking the matter over for some time, recol- 
lecting that I had at the commencement of the narra- 
tive been told that Miss Allen was not an acquaintance 

of Mr. B , and considering the statement that the 

Duke and Mr. Y expected me to aid in developing 

another medium in my present situation, very improb- 
able, and yet feelrng quite certain that my mother was 
present, I came to the conclusion that the young girl had 
been treacherous ; that she had assisted my mother to 
write for a while, and then turned against her. 

I had, to avoid the difficulty of even writing "yes" 
or "no," adopted the expedient of having my hand 
moved in a certain direction as an affirmative answer, 
and in the opposite as a negative. 

On now asking if my suspicions were correct, and 
seeking for an answer as above, while thinking as intently 
as possible of my mother, I became convinced that they 
were. 

Then, recollecting the apparent inconsistencies in the 
narrative given me, I was uncertain as to how much of 
it was correct, and felt no more inclined to attempt the 
completion of my work than before. 

But I found that by continuing the attempts to have 



author's narrative. 103 

something written, my mother's power increased slightly, 
so that she was able at times to write a few words, and 
at other times to convey by impression what she wished 
to communicate. 

On learning that it was the wish of my friends in the 
other world, that I should complete and publish the 
work ; and that the narrative which had been given me 
was substantially correct, also that I had a tolerably cor- 
rect idea as to the phenomena, I concluded to persevere 
and finish the work as completely as possible under the 
circumstances. 

As writing was excessively tedious and almost im- 
practicable, most of the subsequent information given 
by my mother was by impression, but as Miss Allen and 
the young girl could also give impressions, I had my 
hand moved as heretofore described, after each commu- 
nication, until satisfied as to whether the impression was 
from my mother, and whether I understood her cor- 
rectly. 

In consequence of this difficulty in communicating, 
there may be some slight errors in the three following 
chapters, so unimportant that my friends have not 
thought it worth while to attempt their correction. 

The real name of the person calling- herself Miss Al- 
len, has, as I suppose, been given me, but as I could not 
very well among strangers institute inquiries about her 
without giving reasons for doing so, I have made no at- 
tempt to learn anything about her from persons of our 
world. I will continue to call her Miss Allen in the 
following chapter. 

The name of the young girl has also been given me. 
I was once told at Long Branch, after Mrs. Arnold had 



104 THE INVISIBLES. 

as represented, taken her leave, that this person was pre- 
sent. At first I did not recollect having ever heard of 
her, but afterward I had an indistinct recollection of 

having heard that such a person had died at C , 

Ohio. As I was never afterward informed that she was 
present, I had concluded that it was merely a persona- 
tion. 

The family of which this individual was a member, 

was one of the most wealthy and aristocratic in C , 

but she died when I was a child, and I have no recollec- 
tion of having ever seen her. Neither have I any very 
distinct recollection — further than of hearing about them 
— of her father or mother, as they also died when I was 
quite young. I am therefore unable to state from my 
own recollections what kind of training this girl would 
be likely to receive from her parents. 

The fact of a person who died when I was a child 
being with me, explains what before was something of 
a mystery, namely, that many of the personations pre- 
vious to the visit of the person calling himself the late 
Bank President, were of individuals whom I could 
scarcely recollect. 

I will continue to call this person Julia, though that 
was not her real name. 

When I commenced the attempt to get an explanation 
of my experience from my mother, my narrative up to 
that date was written, and I merely asked for explana- 
tions of the same as I read over the manuscript ; and 
afterward I read over the narrative thus given me, ask- 
ing after reading each paragraph if it was correct, and 
when the reply was in the negative, getting the correction. 
It will be necessary therefore that the reader have my 



author's narrative. 105 

narrative fresh in his recollection in order to understand 
the explanatory one. 

Owing to the condensed and disjointed manner in 
which the latter was necessarily given me, I shall not 
attempt to repeat the precise words, but will faithfully 
give the substance. 






CHAPTER II 

EXPLANATION OF THE PRECEDING NARRATIVE, GIVEN 
Rl'MISS JULIA, AND THE AUTHOR'S 3IOTHER. 

When I visited Miss Fox in the fall of 1863, I was 
followed from her residence by Ellen and Miss Allen. 

They thought I could be made a medium, and followed 
me for that purpose. And when I afterward visited 
other mediums, they had me told through these that I 
could get communications direct from my friends, better 
than through others, in order to induce me to sit in my 
own room for the purpose. 

Ellen was formerly a common prostitute in New York. 
She had been in the other world about three years when 
she first met me. 

Miss Allen was born in Unadilla, New York, but 
died in Albany, New York, in the year 1858, aged about 
twenty-three years. The communication written shortly 
before I returned to T , in the spring of 1864, pur- 
porting to be written by a female who died at Albany, 
was written by her, and was partly applicable to her 
own case. And the communication I afterward received 

at T , which I supposed was by Ellen, stating that 

the writer was born at Unadilla, and had lived in Al- 
bany, was written by Miss Allen, although she knew 
that I thought Ellen was writing. 

Miss AHen was of a respectable family, had received 

106 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 107 

a fair education, and is intellectually superior to any of 
the other world who have heretofore been able to com- 
municate with what are called mediums.* She visited 
the mediums from curiosity, and to assist in the decep- 
tions, but had never found any one of our world with 
whom she could directly communicate. She thought 
she would be able to communicate with me, but why she 
thought so, I do not fully understand, further than that 
she perceived some peculiarity in my nervous organiza- 
tion. 

When I commenced sitting in my room for communi- 
cations, there was a contest between Miss Allen and 
Ellen for the control, which was the reason that some- 
times only crooked lines, circles, etc., were executed. 

Ellen, however, had the most power, and gained the 
control ; and most of the writing, previous to my return 

to T the following spring, was by her ; Miss Allen 

being able to write only when Ellen permitted her. 

Some of the names given were taken from my mind, 
others were obtained from individuals who had lived at 
C . 

When I returned to T in the spring, Miss Allen 

undertook the personation of Mr. B , as a means of 

gaining control. She induced Ellen to enter into the 
scheme for amusement, and to allow her to write, under 
the idea that she was most competent to carry out the 
deception. She was obliged to invent some scheme of 
the kind, as otherwise Ellen would permit her to write 

very little. The only reason for selecting Mr. B 

for the personation was, that she had seen him at my 
hotel, had learned that he was an acquaintance of mine, 

* This matter will be explained in "Explanations of Phenomena." 



108 THE INVISIBLES. 

and had also been able to learn from one of her world 

who formerly lived in A , New York, — in addition 

to what she had learned from my mind, — some few facts 
which would serve for the purpose. Her intention from 
the first seems to have been, to take about such a course 
as she did — that is, to have the principal blame for the 
deception attach to Ellen, but the "killing" process she 
did not understand until later. 

When by writing as Mr. B , she had gained con- 
siderable power, she contrived to have Ellen absent, and 
took advantage of the occasion to introduce herself, 

(personating Mr. B ), as the daughter of a New 

York banker, and to advise me to cease intercourse with 
Ellen. 

It will be recollected that previous to this personation 
neither of them had in any way identified themselves; 
but it seems to have been a part of Miss Allen's scheme 
to have Ellen identified in a certain manner; and when, 

as Mr. B she advised me to cease intercourse with 

her, she introduced herself, thinking I would be inte- 
rested, in conversing with a female part of the time. 
She called herself the daughter of a New York banker, 
in consequence of having learned from my mind that I 
had been engaged in that business there. 

When Ellen returned and perceived what had taken 
place, she was of course very angry, and the apparent 
blows were delivered by her. They were, however, 
electric shocks, and not physical concussions, as I at the 
time supposed. This I afterward understood, having, 
some time after the visit of the Duke, experience'd in 
the night shocks much more severe. 

As I would not permit Ellen to write, she could not 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 109 

undeceive me relative to the personation of Mr. B , 



even if she had wished to. Miss Allen had the most 

power when I thought it was Mr. B writing. 

Why this was so, I do not fully understand, but suppose 
it was partly owing to the fact that she was more nearly 

on the intellectual plane* of Mr. B than Ellen, 

partly because she had written so much in the character 
of that individual, and partly because it was impossible 
for Ellen to imitate his style. 

But it appears that Ellen made no attempt to expose 
this deception ; she supposed that I would soon learn the 
truth, and would then cease intercourse with Miss Allen. 

I had by this time been seen by many of the other 
world, one of whom was Julia; and Miss Allen per- 
mitted her to write, in order to secure her assistance 
against Ellen, and also her aid in personations of indi- 
viduals who had lived at C . She is the only one 

that Miss Allen permitted to gain any control. 

Julia's first personation was that of the young girl 
who had lived at Marion, Ohio. She afterward assumed 
the character of Mrs. Arnold, thinking I would be 
more interested in conversing with an adult. When 
she named South Bend as the place of her former resi- 
dence she was under the impression there w T as such a 
place in Ohio.f 

At this time neither Miss Allen, Julia, or Ellen, fully 
understood or appreciated the effect of my thinking, or 
forming correct impressions of them in my mind. But 
the former, at least, soon perceived this, and she then 
urged me to take steps to learn as to the death of Mr. 

* A matter which will be explained in "Explanation of Phenomena." 
I There is a place in Ohio called North Bend. 
10 



110 THE INVISIBLES. 

B ; knowing what effect the carrying out of her 

scheme would have on Ellen, and what the consequent 
effect would be on myself. 

It was not Miss Allen, but Julia, and a person who 

had lived in T , that went to the hotel to look for 

Mr. B 's acquaintance. Miss Allen and Julia were 

with me when I met the gentleman the day previous, 
but if they had not been they could have got his like- 
ness from my mind. Miss Allen could not leave me, 
on account of the presence of Ellen, Julia not being 
able to prevent her communicating. 

As Julia and her companion were proceeding toward 
the hotel, they met the gentleman* whom they first 
mistook for the one they were in search of. Afterward 
they went to the hotel and found there the person whom 

they again mistook for the acquaintance of Mr. B ; 

misled to some extent this time probably by my remark 
that the gentleman was older than the first they had 
found. 

Miss Allen's idea in putting me to the extra trouble 

of seeing this acquaintance of Mr. B , and then of 

writing to New York, seems to have been to enrage me 
as far as possible against Ellen; but this part of the 
programme was rather silly; as learning of the deception 
in any way would have had the same effect. 

When I received the letter from New York, advising 

me that Mr. B was still living there, and Miss 

Allen with the connivance of Julia, succeeded in casting 
the blame of the deception on Ellen, and by personating 
my sister retained control, Ellen became furious, and as 

* Who in going from his office to the Bank at the same time would 
pass them. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. Ill 

she could not injure Miss Allen or Julia, she commenced 
persecuting me. 

I had not deceived her relative to the previous elec- 
tric shocks, by the pencil experiment; she could read 
my mind, and perceived that I felt the shocks would be 
a very serious matter if continued: but at that time she 
did not wish to do me any serious injury, presuming 
that I would soon be undeceived relative to Miss Allen, 
and hoping that she would then be allowed again to 
hold intercourse with me. 

Now, however, she would have injured me if she 
could, and such was my condition at the time that 
she might have done me serious injury through my 
nervous system, but for the interference of Miss Allen 
and Julia. 

But she could neither choke me nor directly affect 
the action of my heart. I had a correct idea as to the 
former attempt at the time ; what I felt was merely a 
magnetic impression; but I was at the time deceived, 
as I became some time afterward convinced relative to 
her power in the latter respect, namely, to affect the 
action of my heart. 

Owing to the deranged state of my nervous system, 
the circulation of my blood had become irregular, and 
on the night when I awoke in the condition described, 
and thought she had produced it, I had been lying in a 
cramped position, which was the cause of the trouble; 
and my apprehension that she was then, and subse- 
quently, operating upon my heart, increased its palpi- 
tation. 

It seems, however, that Ellen was so stupid as really 
to believe that she could choke me, and when she per- 



112 THE INVISIBLES. 

ceived my condition the subsequent night, she thought 
she was effecting, or at least increasing the difficulty. 

This persecution was what Miss Allen and Julia 
wished. They were present at the time, and did all 
they could to excite my apprehensions, and get me into 
as nervous a condition as possible. The advice to live 
on tea and toast, was for the same purpose. They now 
understood the effect of my thinking, and designed the 
" killing" operation, and the more nervous I could be 
made, the better for their purpose. 

How the name of Prof. Arbuckle, late of Dublin, 
happened to be given, I do not understand. My mother, 
if I understand her, does not know whether there was 
such a person or not. Julia stated that the name was 
given by a native of Ireland, who was present, and that 
Miss Allen having heard of the celebrated Dr. Aber- 
nethy, of whom she presumed I had also heard, mis- 
took the name for that of the latter individual. And 
Julia seemed to believe that there was such a person as 
Prof. Arbuckle. 

Since coming to New York, I have examined a work 
in which the name should appear, if there was such a 
person of much celebrity, without finding it. I am 
therefore of the opinion that there was no such person, 
and that they were mistaken in the name, intending to 
give that of Dr. Abernethy ; but if so, the gentleman 

of whom I inquired in T was as badly informed 

upon the subject as these persons of the other world.* 

One of my difficulties, as my physician afterward in- 

* I can imagine that both might be mistaken as to the date of Dr. 
Abernethy's death, (he died in 1831), but not how they got the idea 
that he lived in Dublin. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 113 

formed me, was dyspepsia in an aggravated form, and 
since commencing this work, I have learned that a 
preparation of arsenic is sometimes prescribed for this 
complaint. This Miss Allen was told, but when she 
perceived how I viewed the prescription, and recollected 
what a deadly poison arsenic is, she thought there must 
be some mistake, and then prescribed senna, and I have 
found her explanation of its properties, as to which I 
knew nothing, to be correct. I suppose that relieving 
me to some extent of dyspepsia, would not have mate- 
rially interfered with her purpose, otherwise she would 
not have given these prescriptions, which I now under- 
stand would have been at least slightly beneficial. 

When I had passed three or four nights in the way 
described, getting very little sleep, and becoming exces- 
sively nervous, and willing to do almost anything to get 
rid of Ellen, the " killing" operation was undertaken 
by Miss Allen and Julia; the former personating my 
father, as she feared I would not think of my sister as 
being sufficiently powerful. 

It will be recollected that Miss Allen could not now 
give her own name, on account of her connection 
with the personation of Mr. B ; and the persona- 
tion of my father aided her, as she is more nearly on his 
intellectual plane than Ellen. .This is the best explana- 
tion I can give, for I do not fully understand the sub- 
ject myself. 

The operation consisted simply in inducing an ener- 
getic and long continued action of my mind or will, by 
means of which some change, the nature of which I do 
not understand, was effected in myself, not in Ellen. 
The directions given me the next morning about walk- 
10* 



114 THE INVISIBLES. 

ing, were for the purpose of more fully accomplishing 
the object — exercise of the muscles facilitating the ope- 
ration, and the keeping me awake the succeeding night 
was for the same purpose. 

Miss Allen and Julia, having now pretty effectually 
" killed" the power of Ellen, wished to induce me to go 
to New York and act as a public medium ; their idea 
being to personate the friends of visitors, as is done 
through all other mediums. 

As soon as I had nearly recovered my health, Mr. 

J , the stock-broker was brought, to personate late 

bankers and brokers, and other late prominent individu- 
als of New York, and persuade me to go there for the 

purpose named. But when Mr. J came, they 

changed their plans for a scheme entirely new, and for 
the following reasons: — 

Miss Allen, as stated, is by far the most intellectual 
being of the other world, that has hitherto been able to 
communicate (except occasionally by faint and unreli- 
able imjyressions) with any of our world. In the case 
of all other mediums only the lowest, vilest and most 
unintellectual class of the other world — such as Ellen, or 
even lower — can communicate directly ; if any of the 
better class communicate at all, it must be done through 
one of these vile creatures. 

Now, the latter class prefer lying and deception to 
telling the truth, or making themselves useful; and in 
the other world no pecuniary or other motive can be 
brought to bear upon them so as to induce them to act 
honestly. Hence, the better class of the other world 
fear to come and identify themselves to their friends in 
our world through one of these lying creatures in con- 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 115 

trol of the medium, not knowing what lies and decep- 
tions might afterward be practiced upon their friends by 
personating them. 

When Mr. J came, and perceived that the better 

class could communicate directly with me, he suggested 
the scheme which they have attempted to execute. This 
was, to have some one of the other world, who would 
have the confidence of my friends there, as well as my 
own, to act as manager, he agreeing that Miss Allen, 
Julia and Mr. J should be connected with the bus- 
iness. Their interest in the matter was to hold inter- 
course with our world, and it seems that upon the whole 
they would have preferred having the better class come 
and communicate with their friends, rather' than continue 
the personations. But they feared that if one of my 
relatives or intimate friends was brought, he would 
refuse to allow them to be connected with me, and they 
thought that another individual could in some way secure 
the assent of my friends and my own consent that he 
should act as manager. 

Mr. J knew that Mr. G , the Bank President, 

was in the other world, as he passed there before himself, 
and he thought this individual would have my confidence. 
He appears to have supposed that I knew more about 
Mr. G than was the fact. 

Mr. J therefore personated the Bank President, 

and proposed acting as manager, to see how the idea 
would strike me, intending, if I received the proposition 
favorably, to speak to Mr. G upon the subject. 

The nonsense and deceptions of Miss Allen and Julia 
— , for they were both engaged in them — subsequent 
to the receipt of the letter from New York, relative to 



116 THE INVISIBLES. 

Mr. B , and previous to the "killing" of Ellen, 

were partly — so far as regards the nonsense — owing to 
the natural inclination — of Julia especially — for trifling; 
but there was an object in most of the deceptions, such 

as telling me of the deaths at C , and inducing me 

to write to ascertain the truth ; and the personations of 
my sister were sometimes purposely poorly performed, 
in order that I might detect them. 

The names of the ladies, stated to have died at C , 

were given by an individual who had lived there. The 
one first named had married after I left there, and after 
the death of the individual who gave the name. Julia 
gave me the maiden name of the lady — a fact which I 
have not stated in my narrative — but on giving it, 
learned from me that the lady was married. She seems 
to have feared on learning this (recollect it was a young 
female), that I would not feel sufficient interest in the 
lady to write, and therefore she procured the name of 
the unmarried lady, which she gave me next morning. 
And when I learned this lady was not dead, I was given 
the name of another unmarried lady, to inquire about, 
who did not, however, happen to be an acquaintance. 

The object of these deceptions was, to have me per- 
ceive how liable I was to be imposed upon by those of 
the other world, and as they had learned the effect of 
my thinking, they designed assuming again their true 
characters (of Miss Allen and a young girl), and proposed 
remaining with me to guard me against deceptions. 
The blame for these deceptions was of course to be cast 
upon Mrs. Arnold, which character was to be abandoned. 
Miss Allen was obliged to assume again that name, as I 
had a pretty correct impression of her, and she feared I 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 117 

could not receive precisely the same impression if she 
gave another name, and made me believe it was a differ- 
ent individual. 

But when Mr. J came, and the new scheme was 

formed, the assumption by Julia of her true character 

was postponed, and Mr. J , as the President, only 

stated that he had engaged Miss Allen to stay with me. 

It would of course be necessary, if I was to act at all 
as a medium, that some one of the other world should 
remain constantly with me, to prevent deceptions. But 
in addition to this necessity, there is, as I now under- 
stand the matter, another reason why one en rapport 
must remain with me. The truth is, that any and every 
one of the other world could not come and at once com- 
municate with me, either by writing or talking, unless 
they were assisted by one already en rapport. The 
nature of this assistance has not been fully explained to 
me, and probably could not be ; but I suppose it is very 
similar to what takes place in our world, when a mes- 
merizer place as third person en rapport with his pa- 
tient. 

This position then was the one Miss Allen and Julia 
wished to occupy. It seems rather strange they should 
have expected to be allowed to do so, as greater liars are 
not to be found. But there is this difference between 
myself and other mediums. With me the better class 
could communicate directly, while in the case of other 
mediums the message must be entrusted to a lying be- 
ing of their world. And those of the other world can- 
not at will read the minds of each other,* at all events 

* I do not understand to what extent they can do this. 



118 THE INVISIBLES. 

not without taking the same course that they do to read 
ours, which would not be permitted ; nor can the better 
class of the other world usually become sufficiently en 
rapport with individuals of ours to read their minds, as 
the lower class do. Therefore, if the better class under- 
took to communicate through an ordinary medium, they 
could not be certain as to what messages were received 
and delivered. With me they would deliver their own 
messages, and as they could read my mind, they could 
not be deceived as to the message from our world. 

Both Miss Allen and Julia state that Mr. J is 

excessively stupid. I do not understand this, as when 
in our world he was called a pretty sharp broker. But 
at all events the personation of the bank president was 

very stupidly done. Mr. J mistook the name of 

the cashier of the bank for that of the president, and 
did not even recollect more than" the surname of the 
cashier, which was all he at first gave, and when by ex- 
amining a bank-note reporter, I ascertained that an in- 
dividual of the same surname was then president of the 

bank, Mr. J concluded it must be a son of the 

former president. 

The personation of Daboll, Howard, and others, was 
also rather stupid ; especially that of the Southern gen- 
tleman, who it was stated had died in Paris, as Mr. 

J should have known that I would learn of the 

deception. The apparent coincidence of the gentleman's 

son being sick in Paris was accidental, as Mr. J 

knew nothing about his son. He knew the gentleman 
had gone to Paris, or to Europe, and that was all he 
knew about him. 

It was perceived that the giving of these names ex- 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 119 

cited ray suspicion, and therefore nothing of the kind 
was again attempted. 

Mr. J — — wished to learn whether it was generally 
supposed by his acquaintances that he had committed 
suicide, and he was with me when I made the inquiry 
in New York. 

At one of the first visits of Mr. J as the bank 

president, I inquired of him if he had met Mr. Y , 

the banker, in the other world.* I suppose I happened 

to think of Mr. Y , because I had learned that he 

had been a spiritualist, and as he had been a prominent 
banker, I presumed the president had been acquainted 
with him. The reply was that he had not met him, and 

I neither said nor heard anything more about Mr. Y 

until as mentioned in my narrative. 

■ But in consequence of my inquiry, the idea occurred 
to Mr. J of engaging Mr. Y to act as man- 
ager, instead of the bank president, the latter individual 
not having yet been spoken to upon the subject. Mr. 

J had been better acquainted with Mr. Y , 

than with Mr. G , and he knew that I had been 

slightly acquainted with the former, while he now per- 
ceived that I had not been at all acquainted with the 
latter. 

Mr. J therefore made the proposal to Mr. Y — — 

who accepted it, and afterward they included a gentle- 
man whom I will call Mr. L , a former acquaint- 
ance of mine, in the arrangement. • 

This Mr. L does not appear at all in my narra- 

* This is not mentioned in my narrative. As the most of it was 
written before I received a correct explanation, some things are omit- 
ted which are essential for an understanding of it. 



120 THE INVISIBLES. 

tive. It was one of the many names given when I first 
commenced writing in New York, but was never given 
after my return to T , until Julia stated in her nar- 
rative that he had been connected with the matter. He 
was one of the most prominent men in Ohio, with whom 
I was well acquainted, and whom I respected, but was 
much older than myself, and not what would be called 
one of my most intimate acquaintances. Both Mr. 

Y and Mr. J had become acquainted with him 

through certain financial operations, the former inti- 
mately ; and they thought he would have my confi- 
dence, as well as that of my friends in their world. 

Neither Mr. L or, Mr. Y were at this time 

told where I was, and the former never learned until he 
came with my relatives. So far as Mr. L is con- 
cerned, therefore, the only point upon which he can be 
censured, if at all, is, that he did not at once advise my 
relatives of my situation. They would probably have 
found me if they had known the facts. The apology 

given for Mr. L is, that he was not advised of the 

real facts, and supposed they all were acting for my best 
interests. 

The substitution of Mr. Y for the bank presi- 
dent, would be a difficult matter to explain satisfactorily 
to me, and it was decided to continue for awhile that 
personation, and when the arrangements were completed, 
have Mr. G associated with them. 

Miss Allen was so apprehensive that she would not 
be allowed to occupy the position desired, that she 

would not have either Mr. Y , Mr. L , or any 

of my friends brought until an arrangement was made. 
But it will be perceived that this was a very difficult 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 121 

matter to accomplish without first bringing my rela- 
tives. 

Mr. Y seems to have been as much interested in 

the project as either of the parties, and in order to 
secure for himself the management, the idea occurred to 
him of securing the co-operation of some individual 
of good standing in our world, before saying anything 
to my relatives; and he therefore decided to have a 
letter written to some such individual. 

It will be recollected that he had to use the name of 
the bank president, and therefore had to write to an 
acquaintance of the president, instead of to a more inti- 
mate one of his own. 

Mr. Y had been a spiritualist, and he knew that 

Mr. K had visited mediums in company with Mr. 

G ,* and as he was a gentleman of good standing 

in our world, he decided to have the letter written to 
him. 

As Miss Allen would not permit Mr. Y to be 

brought, the latter had to entrust the writing of the 

* When Julia first told me this, I wrote a note to Mr. K , he then 

residing out of New York, to ascertain its correctness; and the first 
note not being answered, I wrote a second, more fully explaining the 
reason for my inquiry. As neither were answered I infer that the 
statement is correct, and that he did not like to wi'ite upon the subject 
to a stranger. For if incorrect, he would probably have so advised 

me. I knew nothing about Mr. K , he having pretty much retired 

from business when I came to New York to reside. But on making 
inquiry I learn that he was formerly president of one of the large New 
York banks, and that he is well known to the older residents of the 
city. 

I also learned accidentally that Mr. G 's physician was a promi- 
nent spiritualist, and it therefore seems probable that Mr. G would 

have learned enough of the subject to become so far interested as to 
visit mediums and witness the phenomena. 
11 



122 THE INVISIBLES. 

letter to Mr. J , who seems to have acted very 

stupidly in the matter. Mr. Y merely gave him 

.the purport of the letter to be written, and Mr. J 's 

mistake as to the name of the president seems not to 

have been corrected in his interviews with Mr. Y , 

although the latter knew the correct name. 

When Mr. J first attempted to personate the pre- 
sident he only recollected the surname of the cashier. 
The name Joseph, with which he signed the letter, it 
seems he got from my mind. I recollect that when he 
signed the letter, I told him I knew a gentleman of the 
same name, connected with a Wall street insurance 
company; and I am now informed that I had previously 

— after Mr. J had given the name of N , 

thought of this gentleman's name; and thus Mr. J 



got it fixed in his mind that the name of the president 

was Joseph N" . But one would suppose that if he 

got the impression in this way, my remark when he 
signed the letter would show him his mistake. 

When Miss Allen afterward commenced a letter, 
she intended writing to an acquaintance in Unadilla, 
signing only her first name. The interruption was 

occasioned by Mr. J . (who was present when she 

commenced it, and did not happen to arrive just then), 
suggesting that she had better defer it until the arrange- 
ments were completed. 

If she had simply told me that she would defer writ- 
ing the letter, that would have served as well as the 
course she took, but anything like a straightforward 
course would be unnatural to her, and therefore she 
finished a letter, giving a fictitious address. 

The personation of my sister during this period, was 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 128 

to carry out the deception; they thought it would not 
do to have me imagine that none of my relatives were 
visiting me. 

It appears that my relatives, in the other world, lost 
track of me, when I left New York in the spring of 
1862. In the fall of the same year I took up my resi- 
dence in T , and when subsequently in New York I 

have not stopped at the hotel at which I formerly 
boarded. My friends would probably have ultimately 
found me through some one entering their world, but 
had not yet done so. 

Neither had I been seen since I became a medium by 
any of the better class of the other world. At the 
surface of our earth it is comparatively dark to those of 
the other world,* and their proper home is at the surface 
of their world, above our atmosphere. When they visit 
their friends in our world therefore, they must first 
know where they are, and they generally come and 
return direct, without wandering about here in the dark. 

The foregoing applies to the better class. There is 
another class — the class who communicate through me- 
diums — who spend most of their time here. I had been 
seen by many of this class, but they would have no 
motive for informing my friends, and Miss Allen had 
told them that if she retained control my mediumship 
should be confined to the delivery of messages, without 
exposing the deceptions through other mediums, and 
they knew that if any one of the better class obtained 
control, this would be done. I should have supposed 
that Ellen would bring my friends, out of revenge to- 
ward Miss Allen and Julia ; but it appears that she felt 

* Yet when it is entirely dark to us, they can see. 



124 THE INVISIBLES. 

as revengeful towards me as toward them ; besides she 
did not wish the deceptions exposed, and was altogether 
too much of a devil to do any good action. 

When I went to New York, for the reply from Mr. 

K , Miss Allen and Julia, as well as Mr. J , 

were with me; and when, on inquiring of the banker if 
the present President of the Bank was a son of the for- 
mer President, he replied that it was the same person — 

that there had been no change — Mr. J , knowing 

that the President had recently died, concluded of course 
that the gentleman was mistaken, and requested me to 
inquire again. When I made the second inquiry, and 
was told the name of the former President, the mistake 
of Mr. J was perceived. 

Miss Allen and Julia — in consequence of this blunder, 
and of having perceived, as the latter states, that Mr. 

J was stupid — now decided to have Mr. Y 

come and take the place of Mr. J . Julia therefore 

went at once with Mr. J to see Mr. Y , and, 

first requiring him to agree that he would not bring any 
one until the arrangement was made, conducted him to 

me. It was Mr. Y therefore, that visited me the 

same evening at T , and requested me to suspend 

my opinion until I went to New York, in the fall. He 
saw no way to satisfactorily explain the blunder to me, 
and thought the best course was to continue the person- 
ation. 

Mr. Y however, on coming and learning the facts, 

told Miss Allen and Julia, that he did not believe my 
friends would permit them to occupy the position they 
wished. 

The idea then occurred to them of endeavoring with 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 125 

my assistance to develop another medium like myself, 
with whom Miss Allen and Julia would be allowed to 
remain ; and in consequence of this scheme, it was de- 
cided to postpone saying anything about the matter to 
my friends until after I had gone to New York. 

Miss Allen was with me when I happened to be in 

the company of Miss R the preceding winter in 

New York, and she thought that lady could be made the 
kind of medium desired. 

It was thought best not to say anything to me at this 
time, about developing another medium, but as it would 
be necessary that I should be a good deal with the lady 
in order to accomplish the object, to see how I would 
like this, the idea of having her connected with me in 
some way — never clearly explained — was suggested. 

It was not expected that the lady could be made a 
medium before bringing my friends, but Miss Allen 
wanted the arrangement made with her father before 
they were brought, and that the process of developing 
her should be commenced immediately after. The idea 

of Miss Allen and of Mr. Y was, that when I had 

become fully satisfied of the presence of my friends and 

of Mr. R , I could be induced to deliver a message 

from the latter to his daughter, giving the latter my own 
name in connection. 

To prevent Mr. J from bringing my friends, or 

telling them what had transpired, it was agreed that he 
should be connected with Miss R . 

Mr. Y knew that I could not be induced to send 

another letter to Mr. K , or to any one, while in 

doubt as to his being Mr. G , and he devised another 

expedient for securing the management ; taking the oc- 
11* 



126 THE INVISIBLES. 

casion of my going to Long Branch, (which was nine 
days after he came), to make the experiment as to how 
the proposition would be received by me. The scheme 
has been explained to me, but it is unnecessary to state 
it further than to say that it involved the personation of 
a gentleman lately a resident of New York, and now in 
the other world, who, if I received the proposition favor- 
ably, was to be brought afterward to see me. 

Mr. Y wished me to suppose that neither Mr. 

G or Miss Allen were with me, and it was thought 

that the occasion of my going to Long Branch would 
furnish a good opportunity for making me believe that 
the latter was absent. Mrs. Arnold (Julia) was to have 
assured me of the indentity of the individual, and that 
the proposition would be carried out; and it was the 
intention that the proposition should be made early in 
the evening, after which Miss Allen was to announce her 
arrival. 

But in the attempt to carry out this scheme, Ellen — 
who was still v with me, and whose power was not 
entirely killed — got the control, and therefore the pro- 
position was not made. It was Ellen that did most 
of the talking the first night. I am informed that she 
told me, when I was in bed, that she was present, but I 
was so near asleep that her words made no distinct im- 
pression, and in the morning I did not recollect what 
had been said. 

In the morning Miss Allen succeeded in making me 
aware of her presence, and regained control — though 
not so completely as before; and the killing the succeed- 
ing night was simply a repetition of the first. She was 
now at liberty to have me think of her, which was 



EXPLANATION OP AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 127 

better for her purpose than personating my father; but 
as I was not now in the same excessively nervous con- 
dition, this killing was not so effectual as the first.* 
When I returned to my room, after the killing, Miss 
Allen, to ascertain fully my feelings towards her, and to 

have Mr. Y perceive the same, told me that she 

was dying. It was thought that it would not do to 
have me understand that Miss Allen was present the 
first night, and could not prevent my being deceived, 
therefore she told me she had gone to Newport; and as 
they did not wish to tell me that Ellen was present, 
they gave me to understand that there was an opposition 
party, and that Mrs. Arnold had been treacherous, 
having been employed by the opposition, and not by 
Mr. G . 

Julia, therefore, now — pretending to take final leave 
of me as Mrs. Arnold — abandoned that character, and 
concluded to assume no one in particular until the arrange- 
ment was made so that she could assume her true one. 

The personation of a daughter of a citizen of T 

after my return there from Long Branch, was — as ex- 
plained at the time — by a female who had lived there — 
the same who went to the hotel with Julia to look for 
Mr. B 's acquaintance. 

The annoyance of touching my lips, which was com- 
menced about this time, was by Ellen, who had dis- 
covered how sensitive the lips are to magnetic impres- 
sions. 

Mr. R was not spoken to about making his 

daughter a medium, until I went to New York, and 

* But as I understand, Ellen was not afterward able to talk or write 
when Miss Allen was present — she could only interfere. 



128 THE INVISIBLES. 

then he was not, at first, given my name. The delay in 
bringing him to see me, was owing to the difficulty in 
procuring his assent. 

After I had, unexpectedly, returned to T , about 

the middle of September, Miss Allen went to see Mr. 

H ; and she was absent when I awoke in the night 

at T , feeling distressed. Julia was with me, but 

after what she had said at Long Branch, she could not 
give the name of Mrs. Arnold, and therefore did not 
give any. 

The opposition hitherto had been Ellen, who now had 
not power to interfere seriously with the communica- 
tions. But when Miss Allen returned from her visit to 

Mr. R , she told Julia that she had been unable to 

make any arrangement for her. Mr. Y , however, 

informed Julia, that Miss Allen made no effort to have 
her included in the arrangement. Julia, therefore, in 
order to make it necessary that she should be included 
in the arrangement, determined to maintain, and in- 
crease as far as possible, her power with me; and this 
she could best do by exerting her will when Miss Allen 

or Mr. Y were writing. The principal opposition, 

therefore, from the time of my return to New York 
about the close of September, until my friends came, 
was Julia. 

Mr. R 's consent was so far gained, that shortly 

after my return to New York, as above, it was thought 
best to give him my name, and bring him to see me — 
he first agreeing not to inform my friends about me. It 

seems that even Mr. L was kept in ignorance as to 

where I was. 

Mr. R — — was informed that he had been personated 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 129 

at Long Branch, and he thoughtlessly stated that he 
had visited me there, as a test of identity. The next 
test — the one which satisfied me — occurred in this 
way: — 

He recollected having seen me enter the saloon and 
drink something, (what it was he did not know), and 
intended mentioning the circumstance, and saying, in a 
jesting way, that he was much surprised at the time, as 
I had the reputation of being very temperate. One 
reason for mentioning this petty incident was, to show 
me how well he recollected his former life, as he had 
been told that I had cause for doubting whether those 
of his world could do this. When he had written so 
far as to describe my entering the saloon, this brought 
to my recollection where I had been that evening, and 
he — reading my mind — on the impulse of the moment, 
stated that I told him where I had been. It was his 
intention to have given other tests, but as this fully 
satisfied me at the time, he proceeded to converse about 
his daughter.* 

Mr. R would have been pleased to have his 

daughter made a medium with whom the better class 
could communicate as proposed, but there were certain 
conditions named by Mr. Y and Miss Allen, which 

* The tests given to identify my father, as well as the conversation 
about a moire antique dress, were taken from my mind. That the latter 
incident could have been so obtained, appears to me very strange, as 
the lady was not an intimate acquaintance, and I had not seen her for 
several years. I am conscious, however, of having thought of the 
conversation since it occurred, and suppose I must have done so while 
Miss Allen was with me. Every one knows how some petty incident 
of the kind occasionally comes to their remembrance. Miss Allen did 
not know the name of the lady until her mention of the conversation 
brought the name to my recollection. 



180 THE INVISIBLES. 

he hesitated about assenting to, and after some delay, he 
declined the proposition. 

Efforts were then m de to find another person who 
appeared capable of being made the right kind of a me- 
dium, and whose relatives in the other world would as- 
sent to the conditions ; but the relatives all objected to 
the conditions, as Mr. R had done. 

Mr. Y finally decided to have the attempt made 

to develop his widow. He had found she was impres- 
sible, and thought she could be made the right kind of 
a medium. He was unwilling, however, that Miss Al- 
len should have the control of Mrs. Y ; and yet 

nothing could be done about developing another me- 
dium, until some arrangement was made for Miss Allen. 
He therefore devised a scheme which he hoped would 
meet the difficulty. 

The individual whom I have called the Duke, gave 
his real name or title, and the statement which he gave 
me was substantially correct. The facts were known in 
the other world,* and it was also known there that the 
Duke would now be glad to remedy his error, if this 
were possible. 

Mr. Y therefore, informed the Duke about me, 

and the following arrangement was made, to be carried 
into effect if possible. 

I was to go to England and aid the Duke in accom- 
plishing his object — the rectifying of his former error — 
and was to remain there, the Duke having the manage- 
ment of communications through me, for it seems he 

had the same ambition in this respect as Mr. Y . 

Miss Allen was to remain with me, and with my assist- 

* They are such as would be likely to be known there. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR S NARRATIVE. 



131 



ance, Mrs. Y , if possible, if not then some other 

person, was to be made a medium, of whom Mr. Y 



was to have the management, and Julia was to remain 
with this medium.* The Duke was to make such a 
proposition as would, it was thought, induce me to go, 
and secure the assent of my relatives in their world to 
Miss Allen's remaining with me. 

The Duke was then brought to see me, as he wished 
to converse with me, — partly in order to learn my dis- 
position — before my friends came. 

The Duke wished me to go to England as soon as 

possible, and it was the intention that Mrs. Y should 

go with me for the purpose of being developed. As a 
matter of propriety it would be necessary that a lady 

should accompany her. This suggested to Mr. Y , 

an expedient for showing the Duke that I was not in- 
clined to be deceitful. 

It will be recollected that nothing had been said to 
me as yet, about developing another medium. I had 

only been told that they wished Miss R to be in 

some way associated with me. 

I was therefore told by Mr. Y , the Duke being 

present at the time, though I was not aware of this, that 

he wished Miss R to go with me to England, and 

Miss M — to accompany her, but that he did not 

wish the Duke to know that the latter suggestion came 

from him, and therefore wished me to name Miss M 

as though it was my own desire that she should go ; a 
slight deception as will be perceived, but a very shallow 
test, as Mr. Y should have known ; for I knew 

* But Julia was not fully advised of the arrangement, therefore she 
continued to exercise her will when the Duke came. 



132 THE INVISIBLES. 

that the Duke could, to a certain extent, read ray- 
mind. 

The next test, which the Duke made, was perhaps a 
more serious one, for although I afterward concluded he 
had been personated, at the time I believed he was pre- 
sent. 

The Duke was not prepared to at once state his prop- 
osition, and therefore at the first interview merely- 
proposed my going to England, and aiding him in the 
accomplishment of the object named, and remaining there 
four years. 

Wishing to converse further, he appointed an inter- 
view for the next day, and at the second interview made a 
proposal somewhat similar to the real one which was to 
be submitted, but which was deferred until my relatives' 
assent was obtained. He of course knew that I had 

been deceived, but Mr. Y did not inform him of 

all that he knew relative to the course taken by Miss 
Allen, and the Duke consented that she should remain 
with me, if my relatives did not object. 

My relatives were then told of my situation, and the 
proposition submitted to them, but of course no consent 
would be given until they saw me. 

The next day therefore, they were brought, and Mr. 

L , who had not before been told where I was — - 

came with them. They were with me for some time 
previous to the hour which had been named for the in- 
terview, and had decided (in which Mr. L coincided) 

that Miss Allen should not be allowed to occupy the 
position she wished. 

On the third evening, therefore, Miss Allen would al- 
low no one to write. The writing was all done by herself, 



EXPLANATION OP AUTHOR'S NARKATIVE. 133 

she personating my father and mother, as well as the 
Duke. And all the subsequent communications pur- 
porting to be made by the Duke, the President, and 

Mr. Y , were by her or Julia — the latter now aiding 

Miss Allen. 

When Miss Allen, on the above evening, told me — 
personating my father — that I would be " relieved" that 
evening, she probably hoped that my friends would 
make some arrangement with her, but as they refused 
to do so, she and Julia took advantage of my expecta- 
tion of being relieved, to annoy and keep me awake 
during the night, in order to show my friends their 
power. 

After this exhibition of her fiendish character, of course 
my friends would not think of permitting Miss Allen 
to occupy the position, and they set about endeavoring 
to get the control, or to overcome the power of her and 
Julia. 

In this they were assisted by the Duke and Mr. Y 

who in consequence of having written considerable had 
obtained some power. 

For this purpose my friends endeavored to influence 
me to sit and hold the pencil for writing, while thinking 
of one of my relatives, and Miss Allen tried to prevent 
this ; and when I listened, trying to hear some one speak, 
Miss Allen or Julia would annoy me by talking non- 
sense for an hour at a time, until finally I stopped 
listening, and tried to overcome, or get rid of this 
perception.* 

* When the sound was faint — as it had become at this time — it 
seemed more interior than in ordinary hearing, and I listened more 
interiorly. When more distinct, as at one time, the sensation was pre- 
cisely the same as though one of our world spoke to me. 
12 



134 THE INVISIBLES. 

Miss Allen and Julia also continued their persecutions 
every night, which the former charged upon the "oppo- 
sition," who of course were my friends. 

The discovery which I made about this time of the 
power these beings had to influence my judgment, was 
owing to the counter influence of my friends. 

It was found that my mother was more nearly en rap- 
port with me than any other of my relatives, and the 
efforts were directed towards giving her control. This 
Miss Allen endeavored to prevent by all the means in 
her power, including the use of obscene language, (which 
was also represented to be by the " opposition"), when- 
ever I wrote thinking of her. 

But thinking of my father or sister increased slightly 
my mother's power, owing to the fact — as explained to 
me — that Miss Allen is very far from being an affinity 
of mine, she having got the control through the extra- 
ordinary course she had taken. 

It was therefore now Miss Allen's constant aim to 
make me believe that none of my friends had discov- 
ered me. She was obliged to communicate occasionally 
in the name of the Duke, in order to continue the de- 
ception, but soon abandoned the personation of Mr. 

G , as she saw I had not the slightest faith in it, and 

when later I became convinced that the Duke could not 
have visited me, she abandoned that personation also. 

As my mother gained power, having become able to 
prevent in a great measure the annoyances, and Miss 
Allen perceived that she intended to persevere, she sent 

to Mr. R a proposition relative to developing his 

daughter, of a different nature from that which had for- 
merly been presented to him. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 135 

Mr. R had not been with me, and knew nothing 

of what had occurred since he had declined Mr. Y- 's 

proposition. He therefore partially assented to the pro- 
posal which Miss Allen now made him, and she then 
appointed the meeting for Sunday, May 21st, 1865 ; 
stating that Mr. R would be present, and fully iden- 
tify himself in any way I wished. 

My friends, however, were satisfied that Mr. R 

would not consent that Miss Allen should obtain control 
of his daughter when he came and learned the former's 
character, and when I prepared my questions, they 
feared that Miss Allen might in some way get the an- 
swers from him, to be used in case he declined her pro- 
posal after coming. 

One of them therefore went and cautioned Mr. R , 

advising him at the same time of what had occurred. 
On learning the facts Mr. R sent word to Miss Al- 
len that he declined her proposition, and therefore 
should not come. 

But as the meeting had been appointed on behalf of 
the Duke, the coming of Mr. R having been repre- 
sented as merely incidental ; she had no reason to give 
for canceling the appointment, and therefore merely told 
me that Mr. R could not conveniently be present. 

After she had told me that Mr. R could not come, 

it occurred to her that she might get the answers to the 
first two questions on my list, — which happened to be 
as to the number of his store, and the name of his suc- 
cessor — and make the difficulty in writing an excuse for 
not answering the remainder. 

One day, after the visit of Mr. R , when passing 

the store formerly occupied by him, I happened to think 



136 THE INVISIBLES. 

of him, and looked into the store, the doors being open, 
but did not notice the sign over the doors. Miss Allen 
and Julia were with me at the time, and they now 
thought that from their recollection of the locality, with 
the information obtained from my mind as to the nature 
of the business, they could find the store, and thus get 
the number and name of the present occupant. 

Julia therefore went down Broadway for this purpose, 
Miss Allen, who had the most control, remaining with 
me. Julia was mistaken as to the block in which the 
store was situated, and as she found in the block which 
she thought was the correct one, a store similarly situ- 
ated, each being in about the center of the block, in 
which the same kind of business was done, and it being 
the only store of the kind in the block, she felt confident 
she had found the right one.* 

Miss Allen told Mr. Y that if he did not agree 

to let her remain with Mrs. Y , or another medium, 

she would inform me of his connection with the affair, 
and when, at the hour named for the meeting, I went to 
my room to receive the communications, she, personat- 
ing the Duke, introduced Mr. Y , or told me he was 

present, and then wrote a little in his name ; but she 
concluded to wait and see what eifect her personation of 



* There is no great similarity in the appearance of the two stores — 

that occupied by Mr. E being much the largest. And he dealt in 

two kinds of commodities — as does his successor — only one of which 
was kept at the store she found ; and this one was the smallest branch 
of the two. The store she found is, however, the only one in that block, 
in which either of the two kinds of commodities are sold, and both 
stores are in about the centers of each block. 

I am informed that these letters and figures are about as small as 
they can read. They are about eight inches in length. 



EXPLANATION OP AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 137 

Mr. R had, before telling me of- Mr. Y -s con- 
nection. 

My friends feared that Julia had found the store for- 
merly occupied by Mr. R , and resisted Miss Allen's 

attempt to give the name and number brought by Julia. 
But knowing that Miss Allen would persevere until she 
had written them at least very nearly correct, they ef- 
fected the slight errors named, presuming that Miss Al- 
len would then stop, as she cOuld explain these errors 
by simply stating the fact, namely, that they were caused 
by the " opposition," which would have appeared to me 
probable. My friends thought this was the best they 
could do, and hoped that I would, finding I was not 
"relieved" at the time she would again have to name, 
sooner lose my faith as to Mr. R having been pre- 
sent, in consequence of these errors, than if the name 
and number had been given entirely correct. 

When I afterwards examined the street directory, 
Miss Allen asked me how nearly correct the number had 
been given, intending to explain the error as above; but 
when I told her the number given was not in the same 
block with the store of Mr. R , she knew that ex- 
planation would not avail, and then tried to make me 
believe that individuals of her world could not recollect 
such things. 

Finding she could not effect this, she invented another 
scheme, in pursuance of which she gave me the narra- 
tive, a synopsis of which I have given, the same 
evening. 

It will be recollected that in the narrative it is stated 

that the personators of the Duke and Mr. G were 

Mr. Y and Mr. M , the latter being the father 

12* 



138 THE INVISIBLES. 

of the young lady who was to accompany Miss R 

to England. ■ - 

When Mr. Y requested me to name Miss M 

to the Duke, he told me — quite unnecessarily — that her 
father was in his world — having died recently — and 

wished his daughter to go. It appears that Mr. M 

is still living in New York.* 

On concluding her narrative, Miss Allen told me that 

she was now married to this Mr. M . It seems that 

she supposed he was in her world, and, presuming he 
was a friend of Mr. Y , her scheme had some refer- 
ence to him. What this scheme was I do not under- 
stand. I was not informed in either of the narratives 
given, and as Miss Allen learned before morning that 

Mr. M was still in our world, and was therefore 

obliged to abandon the scheme, I have made little effort 
to learn what it was. 

On learning that Mr. M was not in her world, 

Miss Allen saw no other means of preventing my sit- 
ting for the purpose of writing, than to again tell me 
that the Duke had visited me, and was engaged in 
efforts to accomplish his plan, and she commenced her 
operations on my mind before I woke the next morning. 
All the promises made at various times to bring my 
friends, were merely to stop my writing, and to have me 
think that they had not found me; and when she pro- 
posed that I should assist in developing another me- 
dium, she had no definite scheme in view; as she knew 
that this could not be done without the assent of my 
friends. 

* I made no inquiry about this, but now find the name in the Direc- 
tory for 1866. 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 139 

When, on the Sunday succeeding that on which Mr. 

R was personated, I determined to see if I could 

not learn something from the opposition, Miss Allen 
and Julia succeeded in giving me a description of the 
latter, and making me believe that she was the oppo- 
sition. 

It did not occur to me that this might be the same 

person who about a year previous at T , had written 

as the young girl from Marion, Ohio. My impression 
at that time was, that the individual writing was 
younger than the description now given me; but I had 
forgotten her, for Julia had never communicated since 
in the character of a young girl. 

The dread which I experienced at this time, when 
writing and thinking of the young girl, was owing to 
the influence of my mother, trying to dissuade me. I 
had never experienced this dread when Miss Allen tried 
to stop my writing, because she simply endeavored to 
influence my judgment; but my mother seems to have 
endeavored to alarm me, or excite my apprehension as 
to the consequence. 

When Miss Allen gave me, later at T , what pur- 
ported to be an explanation relative to other mediums, 
she did not fully understand my object in purposing to 
visit them on my return to New York.* She thought 
that I hoped to learn the truth through them, and 
meant to convince me that it would be useless to visit 
them for that purpose. She did not much fear that the 
truth would voluntarily be told me, but thought that 



* This shows that she could not always clearly read my mind, when 
I did not design that she should. 



140 THE INVISIBLES. 

something might inadvertently be said which would 
cause me to believe that ray friends were with me. 

At my visits to mediums, after ray return to New 
York in the fall of 1865, my friends — knowing it would 
be useless — made no special efforts to have me learn the 
truth through any other than the impressible female 
whom I saw in a room on Broadway. The Duke 
attempted to impress her mind, but was unsuccessful. 
The individual in control gave the name of my father, 
and would have given some lying communication but 
for the interference of the Duke. When the medium 
took my letter home with her, a communication of no 
pertinency, and with a wrong signature, was given, in 
order to dissuade me from visiting her again. 

Ever since undertaking to get control, ray mother, 
and those aiding her, had a double task to perform. 
While endeavoring to accomplish this by influencing 
my mind, they had also to protect my person — especially 
at night — from the persecutions of Miss Allen and 
Julia. 

When I had fully determined to abandon all attempts 
to solve the mystery, and to cease entirely — so far as 
possible — intercourse with the other world; and my 
friends found that they were unable — having the influ- 
ence of Miss Allen and Julia against them — to induce 
me to sit, thinking of my relatives, for communications, 
they decided to abandon the protection of my person, 
and concentrate their power upon my brain. 

They came to this decision on the 23d of November, 
and commenced their efforts as soon as I retired that 
evening. When Miss Allen and Julia perceived this, 
they also — fearing that my mother would be able to talk 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR S NARRATIVE. 



141 



to me — concentrated their efforts upon my brain. This 
occasioned my distress. The efforts were continued 
every night, as but little could be effected during the 
day when my mind was actively employed, and the 
gradual diminution of my distress was owing to my 
mother gaining in power. 

Miss Allen and Julia knew that some explanation 
must be given of this, and they decided that the latter 
should tell me she was assisting my friends against Miss 
Allen. They thought that if I was not already con- 
vinced that my friends were present, I soon would be; 
and wished, as I had lost all faith in Miss Allen, to 
have me write, thinking of Julia, as long as possible. 

When I asked for the true name of Miss Allen, as I 
was still under the impression that she had been an 

acquaintance of Mr. B , Julia gave the name of 

Ellen C , who she had been told was an acquaintance 

of his. The person who gave her the name had heard 

Miss C called Nell, and supposed her name was 

Ellen. 

When, becoming satisfied that the truth was not to be 
obtained from Julia, I sat down again for writing, 
thinking of my father; Miss Allen again personated 
him, to prevent my trying thinking of my mother. 
She perceived, from the failure of Julia, that she could 
not give a narrative entirely fictitious, which would be 
believed by me; and her scheme seems to have been to 
give me such a narrative as would secure my belief, and 
thus stop my writing as long as possible. And when> 
not being relieved, I became satisfied that it was not my 

father who wrote, she again personated Mr. Y , and 

tried to make me believe that my friends had not found 



142 THE INVISIBLES. 

me, and that therefore it was of no use to sit and write, 
thinking of them. 

But this long personation of my father had slightly 
increased my mother's power, so that she was now able 
to influence me to sit for writing, thinking of her. 

When I sat down for this purpose, Julia, presuming 
that my mother would now get control, assisted her 
against Miss Allen in identifying herself, and convinc- 
ing me that she was present. And she also proposed 
assisting in giving the narrative in explanation of my 
experience, upon the condition that while she should 
state the main facts correctly, she might make them 
appear as favorable as possible to herself, as she also 

proposed doing in reference to Mr. Y and Mr. 

L . 

To this proposition my friends assented, the under- 
standing being that I was to think of my mother during 
the writing. It was thought this would increase my 
mother's power about as much as though Julia did not 
assist her. The narrative was therefore really written 
by Julia, although my mother, to some extent, exercised 
her will at the same time. 

My mother's power did not increase so much as was 
anticipated, both by Julia and my friends, and as Julia's 
object in assisting was the hope of being connected with 
another medium — which she thought would be de- 
veloped — she insisted, when the narrative was finished, 
that this agreement should be made with her, and when 
this was refused, thinking now that my friends could 
not succeed without her assistance, she again joined Miss 
Allen in opposing them. 

As Miss Allen had again commenced her persecutions 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 143 

In the night, my mother had partially diverted her 
power from my brain to the protection of my person, 
and therefore Julia was able to state that Miss Allen 

was a former acquaintance of Mr. B , and to give 

me a false name, before my mother had regained suffi- 
cient power to prevent this. And when my mother had 
gained power enough to almost entirely prevent her 
writing, Julia, assisted by Miss Allen, succeeded in 
stating that this, to me, apparent loss of power by my 
mother, was owing to the treachery of the Duke and 
Mr. Y . 

The idea of Miss Allen and Julia in giving a false 
name for that of the former person, and telling me that 

she had been an acquaintance of Mr. B , seems to 

have been, that when I learned of Mr. B that he 

had never been acquainted with such a person, I would 
conclude that my mother had not written at all, and 
was not with me. And when I perceived the loss of 
power, at a subsequent sitting, the explanation given 
was the only one that occurred to them as being likely 
to discourage me from attempting to finish this work. 

It will be perceived that this explanation contradicts 
the idea that my mother had not written any, and taken 
in connection with the statement last given me relative 
to Miss Allen, tended — when I had learned the falsity 
of the latter — to show me that Julia had been treach- 
erous. Whether it did not occur to Miss Allen and 
Julia that this explanation would defeat the object of 
the falsehood relative to the former, or whether they 
concluded that it would be impossible to prevent my 
being satisfied that my mother was present, I do not 
know. 



144 THE INVISIBLES. 

The most of the foregoing narrative is given as writ- 
ten by Julia, my mother having merely made a few 
corrections. It may not, therefore, be precisely such as 
the latter would have given if she had written the 
whole; but I am advised by her that it is substantially 
correct. The narrative as given by Julia did not diifer 
as to the main facts from the one now given, but in the 
endeavor to so state them that the course of herself, Mr. 
Y , and Mr. L should appear less reprehen- 
sible, there occurred some slight inconsistencies, though 
no absolute contradictions. 

It is a very extraordinary narrative, and I can hardly 
expect that it will be credited by those who — from the 
effect of education — believe that we immediately become 
entirely different beings upon the death of our present 
body. But there are no real grounds for such a belief, 
and, aside from any revelations to the contrary from 
the other world, it appears to me a very unphilosophical 
one. 

I have reasons — aside from the identification of my 
mother — for believing the narrative, which I cannot 
give the reader without making known the parties; I 
will however state one. 

The gentleman whom I have called Mr. L , was 

not one of my most intimate acquaintances, and there- 
fore is not one likely to be named if the narrative was 
a fiction, as both Miss Allen and Julia knew the names 
of my more intimate acquaintances in their world. But 

Mr. L is the person most likely to be selected by 

Mr. Y and Mr. J , especially by the former, for 

the purpose named. 

But, besides all this, it Avould, in my opinion, be im- 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR'S NARRATIVE. 145 

possible for any one to invent a narrative which would 
so fully explain my experience with these beings. I 
have myself spent many an hour in endeavoring to form 
some theory which would account for the matter, but 
without success. 

The question will probably occur to most of my 
readers, "What object could these parties have had in 
view, which would induce them to take all this trouble?" 

So far as regards Mr. Y , his motive seems to 

have been the same as that which prompts individuals 
of our world (when the motive is not a pecuniary one), 
to seek at great trouble and expense to attain some posi- 
tion, or office. 

It must be recollected that those of the other world 
are differently situated from ourselves; they can visit 
and see us; and if the facts relative to myself and other 
mediums are as stated, the position of manager of com- 
munications would be one of much interest and impor- 
tance; for but a small portion of those of the other 
world who would wish to communicate with their friends 
in this, could be gratified. 

The Duke seems to have had the same desire as Mr. 

Y for the management; but, aside from this, he 

hoped to accomplish a very important object through 
me.* 

The motives actuating the male parties, I can then 
understand ; but it seems that the three females merely 
longed for intercourse with our world, and did not much 
care how this was effected. The first intention of Miss 
Allen and Julia was, it appears, to personate individuals 
of their world, as is done through other mediums, though 

* Which I should be unwilling to undertake as at present situated. 

13 



146 THE INVISIBLES. 

when Mr. J suggested making arrangements to have 

individuals of the better class really come and converse 
with their friends in our world, they thought this would 
be more interesting. 

Both Miss Allen and" Julia are very bitter towards 
Mr. J , probably because they think that his sug- 
gestion caused the defeat of their first scheme. But al- 
though they would probably have managed the persona- 
tions more skillfully than is done through other mediums, 
yet I am confident they could not have induced me to 
act as a public medium. 

It appears that a very large class of the other world spend 
most of their time here, and derive their principal grati- 
fication from the slight intercourse they are able to ob- 
tain with our world by surrounding mediums, and per- 
sonating the friends of those who call on them, or who 
sit in " circles." Why this is so, or why their world is 
so distasteful to them, I do not fully understand. I 
know little more about the other world than what is 
stated in this work. During the earlier part of my in- 
tercourse with these beings I was told little else than 

lies, and after the project suggested by Mr. J was 

adopted, I was requested to wait until I went to New 
York, for information of this nature ; and after I had 
come, I was told to wait until I was relieved of the 
" opposition." 

The fact of the two individuals called Miss Allen and 
Julia, remaining with me for more than two years for 
the purpose of preventing my friends from communicat- 
ing with me, and their malignancy in persecuting me in 
order to force my friends into compliance with their de- 
mands, are, notwithstanding all the experience I have 



EXPLANATION OF AUTHOR S NARRATIVE. 



147 



had, matters almost incomprehensible to me. There are 
individuals in our world who for a similar purpose 
would take a similar course for a short time, but they 
would soon become weary of it ; these devils, however, 
seem to be absolutely, or at least comparatively, tireless. 
I am convinced that while some on passing into the 
other world become better, others become much worse; 
and the latter fact, taken in connection with the longing 
of this class for intercourse with our world, and their 
comparative tirelessness, goes far toward explaining the 
course of these individuals. 



CHAPTER III. 

ORIGIN OF SPECIES IN OUR WOULD, AND BIRTH OF THE 
HUMAN SFECIES INTO ANOTHER. 

The subject of the origin of species in our world, is 
somewhat foreign to the object of this work ; but I state 
the theory which I have received from the other world ; 
in connection with the explanation of the phenomenon 
which we call death, or of our birth into another world, 
to show the apparent harmony of the phenomena. 

I can barely state the theory, without going at all into 
details, or attempting to maftitain it by argument. 

In fact, as I have received the theory since commenc- 
ing this work, it is almost as novel to me, as it will be 
to the reader, and I have not had much time for reflec- 
tion as to its probability. The slight study which I 
have given it, however, leads me to consider it more 
probable than any other theory which I have read upon 
the subject, or of which I can conceive. 

The author of "Vestiges of the Natural History of 
Creation," supposes that the various species now exist- 
ing in our world, including the human, have been de- 
veloped by what is called natural generation, from the 
lowest form of animal life. His idea is expressed in 
the following extract : — 

" That the simplest and most primitive type, under a 
law to which that of like production is subordinate, gave 

148 



ORIGIN OF SPECIES. 



149 



birth to the type next above it; that this again produced 
the next higher, and so on to the very highest ; the 
stages of advance being in all cases very small, namely 
from one species only to another ; so that the phenomenon 
has always been of a simple and modest character." 

The theory of a more recent writer, Mr. C. Darwin, 
may be understood from the title of his work, viz: — 
" On the origin of species by means of natural selection, 
or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for 
lifer 

He also holds that the development has been from the 
lowest form of animal life by natural generation, but 
thinks that the advance has been caused by the higher 
class of each species selecting the higher class in mating, 
and by the weaker, or inferior class, perishing more 
rapidly than the higher, in the struggle for existence. 

The objections to these two theories are great, if not 
insuperable. I think the number of scientific men who 
believe in either is comparatively small ; and the most 
of those who have expressed their belief, have done so, 
as it has appeared to me on reading their writings, be- 
cause they could conceive of no other origin, rather than 
because the theory seemed probable. 

I will now state, very briefly, the theory given me. 

The origin of species is, as stated in the two foregoing 
theories, by progression from the most primitive type ; 
but not by, what is called, natural generation. 

As there are two modes of propagation for plants— 
from the seeds and from the roots — "so there are two for 
animals — one called natural generation, the other, by 
birth, upon the death of the animal, from its body ; 

13* 



150 THE INVISIBLES. 

namely, from the center of the nervous system* of in- 
vertebrates, or brainless animals, and from the brain of 
the higher species. 

The origin of a new species, is in the latter mode, 
namely, by birth from the brain, or center of the ner- 
vous system, of the animal which dies. 

The birth of a butterfly from a worm, although not a 
precisely parallel case, may be used as an illustration. 

Every animal contains in the center of its nervous 
system, a germ, which, upon the death of the animal, 
will give birth to an animal of a higher type, provided 
the conditions are favorable for the birth ; if not, the 
germ dies with the animal. 

To commence then with the lowest form of animal 
life. As in the case of natural generation, so here, the 
conditions most favorable for birth are unfavorable for 
life, and the conditions most favorable for life are unfa- 
vorable for birth. 

The earth must therefore undergo a change, unfavor- 
able for the life of the existing species, before a birth 
can take place from the germ. When the earth has 
undergone sufficient change, the birth of a second species 
takes place, upon the death of an individual of the 
first ; but as the earth has not yet become fitted for the 
highest life of the second species, the earliest individu- 
als of this species will be of a low type ; and when the 
earth has become best fitted for the life of the second 
species, the first will cease to give birth at their death. 
When the earth has undergone a still further change, 

* I believe it is a question whether the very lowest forms of animal 
life have, what can properly be called, a nervous system, but my idea 
will be as well understood by that term as any other. 



ORIGIN OF SPECIES. 



151 



the second species will give birth to a third, and so on, 
until the present species, including the human, are born.* 

The earliest individuals of the human species were 
therefore of a low type, but little elevated above the 
monkey tribe from which they were born, but still, they 
were an entirely distinct species. There never was any 
intermediate link between the different species, or be- 
tween man and the monkey, as is supposed by Mr. 
Darwin, and the author of "Vestiges of Creation." 

When the earth became fitted for the life of man, and 
other existing species, or nearly so, the birth of species, 
in accordance with the law which I have stated, ceased ; 
and as it can undergo no further great changes — I mean 
of the kind it has undergone — such births are not to be 
expected in future. 

If this appears to the reader — as it at first probably 
will — a visionary and absurd theory, let him fully con- 
sider the question, as to how the human and other species, 
did, or coidd, have come into existence. I can conceive 
of but three modes, — namely, by natural generation, by 
the mode I have described, and by the direct interposi- 
tion of the Almighty upon the creation of each species. 
The last idea is, in my judgment, hardly worthy of 
being called a theory. 

The theory that man sprang from a monkey, has in- 
curred a good deal of ridicule. Perhaps there were 
some grounds for this, when the idea conveyed was, that 
monkeys were actually the father and mother of the first 
man ; for however slow the advance, this must have been 



* To treat of the causes for the variety of sjjecies now existing, would, 
even were I prepared to do so, occupy too much space. Properly 
treated, the subject would of itself fill a volume larger than this. 



L52 THE INVISIBLES, 

the fact, if the theory of Mr. Darwin is the correct 
one. 

But to suppose that man was born from the brain of 
a monkey, does not imply that he was ever a monkey, 
or that a monkey or its progeny could ever be made 
hnman beings; nor is there in the theory anything more 
derogatory to the dignity of man, than the idea that he 
was created from the dust of the earth, a considerable 
portion of which had formed the bodies of animals far 
inferior to monkeys. 

According to the theory I have given, the care of 
father or mother is not needed ; the animal quickly ar- 
riving at maturity — as, for example, does the butterfly 
on emerging from the chrysalis — requires no such care. 

Before describing the death of the human species in 
our world, and their birth into another, it is necessary 
briefly to describe the world into which we are born 
upon the death of our present body. 

The other, or upper world, (I can think of no better 
term by which to designate it), is not composed of an 
ethereal, or highly attenuated substance, as spiritualists 
and many others imagine. It is composed of the same 
matter as our own, and is as solid and substantial as our 
own; and its inhabitants have bodies as solid and sub- 
stantial as ours. 

The difference in the two worlds consists simply in a 
different combination, or crystallization of the particles 
of matter. 

To speak of the matter of the other world, in distinc- 
tion from that of our own, would therefore be meaning- 
less; and I will designate the particular combinations of 
matter of each world, by the word material. 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 153 

The material of the other world, extends from the 
center of our own to the height of our atmosphere. 

Besides the world perceptible to our senses, we are 
then in another, equally substantial, not perceptible to 
us. 

I have briefly described the successive births of higher 
and higher species, as the earth became fitted for each, 
up to the birth of man. 

Since the birth of man, our earth has undergone but 
slight changes, and — as I have stated — can undergo but 
slight in future, from the causes heretofore operating. 
Slight, I mean, compared with those it has undergone 
since the first appearance of animal life upon it. 

It is not necessary that I should attempt to designate 
the difference between man and the lower animals. It 
will suffice my present purpose, if I state that the mind 
of man — unlike in this respect that of the lower animals 
— does not attain its full capacity before the decay of 
the body commences; its capacity seems, in fact, to be 
unlimited. 

But every one who has thought at all upon the sub- 
ject, must have felt that this world, and his present 
body — and the latter must of necessity be adapted to 
the world he lives in — are not fitted for the highest life 
of which he is capable. 

Here, then, there is a change in the order of progres- 
sion. So far as concerns the body, our world is unfitted 
for any further advance, and as to the mind, the capa- 
city of man's seems to be unlimited; at all events, it 
does not arrive at its utmost limit here, nor can I con- 
ceive that it ever could do so under similar circum- 
stances. 



154 THE INVISIBLES. 

The next step in the order of progression is, then, 
the transference, or birth, — under the same law hitherto 
governing the progression of species — of man into a 
world better fitted for him, at the same time preserving 
his identity. 

The brain of the human species is partly composed 
of the material of the other world, inclosed in which 
material is the germ, (analogous to that in the lower 
animals), consisting of the same material. This germ, 
as well as the bodies of inhabitants of the other world, 
are not liable to destruction or injury by accidents as 
ours are. Why this is so, I cannot explain any further 
than by saying, that the fact is owing to the difference 
in material. 

Upon the death of the body, the individual is, for a 
short time, in appearance, to the inhabitants of the other 
world, as well as to those of this, really dead. In about 
a half an hour there are signs of life in the germ, 
and in about three days the individual arrives at his 
former stage of development; that is, if he died young, 
he arrives at the same stage; if he died aged, he arrives 
at a stage corresponding with the prime of life in our 
world. As to any future advance in apparent age, in 
the other world, I do not .at present understand the 
subject, and therefore will not enter upon it. 

If this also seems a fanciful theory, let the intelligent 
reader, who believes in a future existence, and who 
knows that all the operations of nature have a certain 
degree of uniformity, consider how he can exist after the 
death of his present body, in any other way than that I 
have indicated. All vegetable and animal life in our 
world proceeds from germs, or cells; and if the future 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 155 

body is composed of matter — and I am unable to even 
conceive of one which is not — we have no reason for 
believing that it will be formed in any other way.* 

That the identity can be preserved in such a case, is 
certainly very mysterious, but no more so than the fact 
that the seed of a plant will produce a like plant, or that 
children frequently inherit, not only the bodily appear- 
ance, but the disposition, of one of the parents. 

Spiritualists, as the reader probably understands, be- 
lieve that there is within what they call the natural 
body, a spiritual body, and that at the death of the former, 
the latter simply leaves it. In fact, they all, so far as I 
am informed, believe that the spiritual body can, and 
frequently does, leave the natural body during the life 
of the latter, and again return and enter it. 

This theory appears to be entirely based upon the 
visions of seers, and communications from the spirits; 
and, as both of these have uniformly confirmed the idea 
that the spiritual body frequently leaves for a short time 
the natural body during the life of the latter, if this 
part of the theory is untrue, there is no foundation what- 
ever for the belief in the existence of a spiritual body. 

I shall have occasion in a subsequent part of this 
work, when reviewing various narratives, to discuss that 
portion of the spiritual tKeory relating to the spiritual 
body leaving the natural body during the life of the 

* The reader will, I presume, understand, that the birth of man into 
another world, is merely analogous to, not precisely like, in every 
respect, the birth of species in our world. In the latter ease the birth 
was not so speedy, and if the animal which died had not arrived at 
maturity, there would be no birth at all; and, as a matter of course, 
then, there is no parallel in the latter case to what I have stated about 
man's arriving at his former stage of development. 



156 THE INVISIBLES. 

latter. I will only state here, that the idea appears to 
me excessively absurd ; that it supposes the existence, not 
only of two bodies, but of two minds, in what they call 
the same individual ; for we cannot conceive of a living 
human body entirely destitute of mind. 

As to the theory having been uniformly confirmed by 
the " spirits," this fact is almost proof positive that the 
theory is false. This point I shall endeavor to explain 
hereafter. 

I will give the theory of spiritualists as to the phe- 
nomenon called death, as explained by two prominent 
" seers." 

The following extracts are from a lecture by Hon. J. 
W. Edmonds, published under the title of " Wliat is 
Death ?" 

" I recollect on one occasion, I was standing by the 
death-bed of my nephew. The father of the boy, my 
brother, had to retire to his bed, having been exhausted 
by several nights watching, and I took his place. The 
boy died during my watch that night. His step-mother 
and his aunt (my sister) on one occasion during the 
night came into the room where I was watching. And 
while they stood by his bed-side looking at him, he was 
in the state of unconsciousness that preceded death. A 
few moments before he died, a beautiful smile came upon 
his face, and those two women said : ' How he suffers !' 
' Suffers !' said I ; 'he rejoices,' his sight is opened — he 
sees where he is going, and who are to be his com- 
panions. And yet they shrank from a beautiful spir- 
itual manifestation, and interpreted it into an evidence 
of his suffering. Had they seen, as I did, who were 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 157 

hovering around him ready to receive him, they wonld 
have rejoiced as I did. 

" When my nephew thus smiled at the very moment 
of death, he saw, as I did, that it was his mother, a 
cousin, and an aunt, who were attending on him, and 
waiting to welcome him to the spirit-life. His mind 
was on them, and not on his mortal throes or his mortal 
friends who stood by his bed-side. I saw, too, the joy 
with which in a little while he joined them, and in their 
loving company passed away from earth and its scenes.* 

"So, too, in the case of a brother-in-law, who died 
after a lingering illness, and of advanced age. I saw 
who attended his dying moments. I visited him fre- 
quently during his illness, and at his request, I detailed 
to him what I had then learned as to the life after death. 
One night, when sleeping in my own home, I was awak- 
ened out of a sound sleep about midnight, and saw his 
spirit standing by my bed-side. He told me that he had 
been up there with his sister-in-law, who had been dead 
some months, and he had found it to be just as I had 
told him. I supposed he was then dead, but I found 
the next morning that he was not, that he had that 
morning revived from the unconsciousness that had been 
stealing over him, and told his wife that he had been in 
the spirit-world ; that he had there met some friends, 
whom he named ; that he had found it to be as I had 
told him ;f that he knew where he was going ; that he 
was very happy, and wished her not to be distressed at 

* I copy the foregoing to show what powers are claimed by Judge Ed- 
monds; not that I doubt the presence of the nephew's relatives, or the 
possibility of his being impressed with the fact. 

f This was probably an instance of one mind impressing its action 
on another, upon which subject I shall state my ideas hereafter. 
14 



158 THE INVISIBLES. 

his death, for it was all well with him. A few days 
after that he died, and he was attended by his son and 
his father-in-law, who had died several years before, 
and he and I alike saw them when his departure oc- 
curred. 

" The next consideration is ; what happens immedi- 
ately after death ? The first thing, as I understand it, 
is the formation of the spirit-body. Connected with 
this subject there are many considerations of infinite 
importance, that alone would occupy me for several suc- 
cessive Sundays. I must, therefore, on this occasion, 
content myself with the endeavor to convey to you the 
general idea in a very brief statement, and leave you to 
work it out for yourselves, and see whether I am speak- 
ing truthfully to you, or whether I am misleading you. 
I ask you to receive nothing of this kind upon my au- 
thority. The road that I have traveled, I merely ask 
you to travel, .and see whether I have viewed the scene 
aright. 

" The formation of the spirit-body has been beheld 
by me on two occasions, and once, if I recollect aright, 
it was described by Mr. Davis as having been seen by 
him. That was in the case of a man who was crushed 
by a falling bank of earth. When we die, the mortal 
body decays — passes back to the dust from which it is 
said to come. But the other two parts of the trinity 
which I have mentioned* — the electrical body and the 

* The following is the paragraph referred to: — "As I understand it, 
man is a trinity, consisting, 1st, of the animal body, which is pos- 
sessed of attributes which he shares in common with the whole animal 
creation; 2d, of the soul, which has its intellect and its affections, pro- 
per to itself; and 3d, of what I may call, for want of a better phrase, 
his electrical body, which connects the soul with the animal body, and 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 159 

soul — together pass into the other world. The spirit 
forms its body there. At the moment, or immediately 
after death, it passes out of the corpse in the shape of a 
pale, smoke-like flame, and hovers directly over it, an 
unformed, unshapen cloud for a while, but gradually as- 
suming the human form. When the process is through, 
and the electrical body has thus passed from the mortal, 
and is hovering about it, it assumes the precise form of 
the corpse it leaves behind. And here you see two per- 
sons, the dead body of the person lying on the bed, and 
the electrical body hovering over it, and both inanimate. 

"I beheld in one instance, the spirit body forming 
directly over the body of the man that lay dead, and 
when thus formed, I was struck with the marvelous 
resemblance to the earthly form of the individual who 
had thus died, represented in this cloud-body first 
formed. It lay there perfect in form, but there was no 
animation ; suddenly it started into new life. I under- 
stood then what it was — it was the soul entering that 
spirit body that was its tenement for the other life. 

" The next step after the formation of the spirit body, 
is the awakening to consciousness in the spirit life. 
With some this is a long time coming, with others it takes 
but a single instant, varying in different persons between 
these two extremes, and is produced partly by physical 
causes, but chiefly by our moral condition. 

"I can best illustrate the proposition by telling some 
incidents that have enabled me to come to something 

which at death leaves the body and passes into the spirit-world with 
the soul, and there constitutes its form or tenement. As the three 
united constitute the mortal man on earth, so the soul and the elec- 
trical body together constitute the spirit in its existence beyond the 
grave." 



100 • THE INVISIBLES. 

like a correct conclusion upon this subject ; whether right 
or wrong, judge you upon your own examination. I 
say, in some instances it is long before consciousness re- 
turns. Once, at a circle, I was visited by the spirit of 
a young girl — this was, I think, in the month of March 
— she was the grand-daughter of an English nobleman ; 
she had died in London, when dancing at a party. 
When she awakened to consciousness she was with us. 
She thought she had been carried into the green-house, 
and that she was there when speaking to us. She heard 
our voices, and talked with us under that impression, 
and she was wonderfully surprised when we told her she 
was not in London but in America. 

" She was surprised to find that we were not savages, as 
she had always thought the Americans were, and in the 
course of my inquiries I found she had never been awa- 
kened to consciousness from the moment that she fell 
and expired until that moment. Then the inquiry was 
how long that unconsciousness had continued. She 
could not measure the time, but she remembered one of 
the feasts of the Church which occurred just before her 
death, and we knowing when that was, were thus enabled 
to know that she had been in this state of unconscious- 
ness from the previous November until March. During 
these four months she had known nothing ; she supposed 
that she had merely fainted in the ball-room, and was 
then recovering her consciousness in the green-house 
immediately adjoining. 

"On one occasion we were sitting at my house on 
Sunday afternoon, and enjoying a beautiful day in June, 
with our hearts uplifted in joy and gratitude to God, 
and we were laughing. A spirit came and reproached 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 161 

us with desecrating the Sabbath. We found he had 
been a deacon of a church in Alabama. He had been 
dead several months, and the only consciousness he had 
had since his death had been that every Sunday he went 
to that church and was conscious of the services there. 
I asked him what he had been doing the rest of the 
time — what were his thoughts or actions on the week- 
days ? He answered ; ' I must have been asleep the rest 
of the time.' Months had passed, and the only con- 
sciousness he had had during the whole of those months 
had been that he went to the same church every Sunday, 
and was conscious of his being there, and there was 
preaching. Thus his consciousness had only been par- 
tially aroused. 

" I had a friend who died here a few years ago, a 
most good-natured, honest, noble-hearted fellow, but 
rather indolent. He was brought on one occasion after 
his death, to my house by some spirit friends, who de- 
sired to rouse him from this state of semi-torpor in 
which he was involved. He had heard it all his life 
long preached about the last judgment day, so when he 
arrived there and began to awaken, he settled down into 
a state of dreamy composure and waited to hear the last 
trump. He determined he would not stir and ought 
not to stir until the trump had sounded. He was 
brought to my house by those friends, in order to see if 
they could fully awaken him; and when told by those 
friends that he was then in my presence, he said it was 
all nonsense, and sank again into his half-unconscious 
condition, and refused to be disturbed." 

Other instances are given where the individual awa- 
kened to consciousness almost immediately after death, 

14* 



162 THE INVISIBLES. 

and also, where consciousness was not suspended at 
all. 

Judge Edmonds states that the spirit of his brother- 
in-law visited and conversed with him before death. 
The following must then, according to the Judge's theory, 
have been the process. The electrical body of the bro- 
ther-in-law, on issuing from the mortal body, hovered 
for awhile over the latter, "an unformed, unshapen 
cloud," until finally it assumed the form of the mortal 
body, then, in some manner, never explained by spiritu- 
alists, procured clothing — for the "spirits" never appear 
naked — and visited the spirit world, and conversed with 
his friends there, next visited the Judge and had a con- 
versation with him, and finally returned to the mortal 
body, divested itself of clothing, became again "an un- 
formed, unshapen cloud," and re-entered the mortal 
body. Why he returned to the mortal body, merely to 
undergo the process of dying, is not explained. 

Again, as to the Judge's theory of unconsciousness. 
How could the girl who died in London, find the 
Judge's circle in New York, while in a state of uncon- 
sciousness? And the same may be asked as to the Ala- 
bama deacon. And is not the idea of the spirits bring- 
ing a man who was waiting for the last trump to sound, 
to the Judge, for the purpose of awakening him, rather 
ludicrous? One would suppose the best way to awaken 
him would be, to blow a trumpet at his ear, telling him 
it was Gabriel's. 

Now I have not the slightest doubt of Judge Ed- 
monds' honesty or sincerity, nor that he was told by 
beings of the other world what he has stated. I have 
no reason for such doubts, for I have myself, since I 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 163 

became able to converse with those of the other world, — 
at least during the earlier portion of my experience — 
received from them little else than lies; though the 
communications were generally more shrewd than the 
foregoing. 

The question will probably occur to the reader: — 
" How is it possible that an able lawyer, who is skillful 
in sifting and weighing evidence given by persons of 
our world, can be so easily deceived by those of another 
world?" 

There are various causes for this. I will only men- 
tion the prominent ones which combined to deceive me, 
and which I presume, operated upon Judge Edmonds. 

First: ignorance of the laws governing this inter- 
course. I supposed, as all spiritualists do, that as one 
individual of the other world could converse with a 
medium, any one could. Second; facts being given 
tending to identify the parties conversing, as being my 
friends. Third; the apparent improbability that any 
one would spend their time in visiting me, day after 
day, month after month, for the sole purpose of lying 
and deception. And fourth, the power these beings 
possessed to influence my mind; especially when I was 
unconscious that they had any such power. 

I presume Judge Edmonds is, what is called, an im- 
pressible medium, and therefore beings of the other 
world have the same power to influence his mind. 

While I state my full belief in the truthfulness and 
sincerity of Judge Edmonds, I do not wish to be under- 
stood as having the same confidence in all, calling them- 
selves seers. 

I will next give some extracts from a lecture by 



164 THE INVISIBLES. 

Andrew Jackson Davis, upon, "Death and the After- 
Life." 

" Man is a triple organization. This fact is established 
in two ways — (1) by the concurrent observations of all 
seers, sensitives and mediums, and (2) by the phenome- 
nal developments of individual men and women. 
Man's external body is a casing composed of the aggre- 
gate refinements of the grossest substances. We will 
name the physical body iron, merely to give it a just 
classification and position in relation to mind and spirit. 
Next, we find that there is an intermediate organization 
— which Paul called the spiritual body — composed of still 
finer substances, the ultimation of the coarser elements 
which make up the corporeal or iron organization. The 
combination of the finer substances composing the inter- 
mediate or spiritual body, being so white and shining, 
may be called the silver organization. The inmost, or 
inside of this silvery body, (which interior Paul defi- 
nitely, said nothing about), is the immortal golden 
image. I use the term golden image, because that 
metal is just now exceedingly valuable in commerce, 
and goes directly to men's uppermost feelings and 
interests. Yes, a golden image! You cannot obtain it 
from stock-jobbers in Wall street. And yet it is there 
when you find yourself there; you may also see it deep 
down in the spiritual vault of a brother speculator; for 
whomsoever you meet, and wherever you meet, that 
person, like yourself, contains, against the lining sur- 
faces of his spiritual body, the golden image, which, 
let us thank the Eternal, cannot be bartered away on 
'Change !" 

It is difficult for me to form an idea even of the 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 



165 



silver organization, and the golden image, contained 
against the lining surfaces of his spiritual body, — or 
silver organization — is entirely beyond my comprehen- 
sion. Perhaps the following paragraph will make the 
matter clear to the reader; it does not to me. 

"We call the inmost spirit — signifying the finest, the 
super-essential portion of man's nature, composed of all 
impersonal principles, which flow from the Deific centre 
of this glorious universe, taking a permanent residence 
within the spiritual body which they fill and exalt, just 
as the elements of the spiritual body live within this 
corporeal or iron organization, which is composed of 
mineral, vegetable, and animal atoms and vitalities. 

"And now, having disposed of these general conside- 
rations, I will tell you what I have seen. I will not 
give descriptions of phenomena from my supposition or 
imagination. I suppose that I need not repeat that I 
have had the periscopic ajfd clairvoyant ability to see 
through man's iron coating for the past fifteen years; 
neither need I again remark that, within the last twelve 
years, the result of the exercise of this faculty has 
come to be to me an education. I have stood by the 
side of many death-beds; but a description of manifes- 
tations in one case will suffice for the whole. 

" If the person is dying under or upon cotton, there 
are signs of agony, the head and body changing from 
side to side. Never allow any soul to pass out of the 
physical body through the agony of cotton or feathers, 
either beneath or in folds about the sufferer." 

Why cotton and feathers have such an injurious ef- 
fect, we are not informed. His description of the spir- 
itual body leaving the physical body, is somewhat 



166 THE INVISIBLES. 

similar to that of Judge Edmonds ; I will therefore 
omit most of it. The following important items were 
not given by the Judge, and one would infer that he 
witnessed nothing of the kind. 

" The fine life-thread continues attached to the old 
brain.* The next thing is the withdrawal of the elec- 
tric principle. When this thread snaps, the spiritual 
body is free! and prepared to accompany its guardians 
to the Summer-Land. 

" The clairvoyant sees the newly-arisen spiritual body 
move off toward a thread of magnetic light which has 
penetrated the room. There is a golden shaft of celes- 
tial light touching this spiritual body near its head. 
That delicate chain of love-light is sent from above as 
a guiding power. The spiritual being is asleep, like a 
just-born, happy babe; the eyes are closed; and there 
seems to be no consciousness of existence. It is an un- 
conscious slumber. In many cases this sleep is long; 
in others not at all. The love-thread now draws the 
new-born body to the outside door. A thought-shaft 
descends upon one who is busy about the body. This 
person is all at once 'impressed' to open the door of 
the dwelling, and to leave it open for a few moments, 
or some other door of egress is opened ; and the spiritual 
body is silently removed from the house. The thread 
of celestial attraction gathers about and draws it ob- 
liquely through the forty-five miles of air." 

The spiritual body then, according to Mr. Davis, cannot 
leave the room, until some one of pur world opens the door 
or window. If this is true, there must be a great many 
"spirits" in our world, who have been waiting thou- 

* The other end lvirig attached to the '"spiritual body." 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 167 

sands of years to be released. But if "spirits" can't 
get out until the door is opened, how can they get in 
when it is not? 

And how, for example, did Judge Edmonds' brother- 
in-law visit and leave him in the night, when no door 
was opened? Again, if there is so much trouble and 
delay at death, how is it that the spiritual body leaves 
the mortal body so readily during the life of the latter? 
And how can the spiritual body leave the mortal body, 
and go into the spirit world, or to any distance, without 
the "life-thread" being snapped, when the latter body 
is alive, if it cannot at death ? 

" At the battle of Fort Donelson, I saw a soldier in- 
stantly killed by a cannon-ball.* One arm was thrown 
over the high trees ; a part of his brain went a great 
distance; other fragments were scattered about in the 
open field ; his limbs and fingers flew among the dead 
and dying. Now what of this man's spiritual body? 
I have seen similar things many times — not deaths by 
cannon-balls, but analogous deaths by sudden accidents 
or explosions. Of this person whose body was so ut- 
terly annihilated at Fort Donelson, I saw that all the 
particles streamed up and met together in the air. The 
atmosphere was filled with those golden particles — ema- 
nations from the dead — over the whole battle-field. 
About three-quarters of a mile above the smoke of the 
battle-field, above all the ( clouds that lowered ' upon 
the hills and forests of black discord, there was visible 
the beautiful accumulation from the fingers and toes, 
and heart, and brain, of that suddenly killed soldier. 

* The " physical body " of Mr. Davis being at the time in New York, 
or vicinity. 



168 THE INVISIBLES. 

There stood the new spiritual body three-quarters of a 
mile above all the discord and din and havoc of the 
furious battle ! And the bodies of many others were 
coming up from other directions at the same time; so 
that from half-a-mile to three and five miles in the clear, 
tranquil air, I could see spiritual organisms forming and 
departing thence in all directions. 

"Individuality usually returns, in cases of sudden 
death, after a few days in the homes of the Summer- 
Land. They are usually guided to some Brotherhood, 
to some Hospital, or to some open-armed Pavilion, and 
there they are watched and tenderly cared for, as are all 
who arrive from lower worlds. When the time ap- 
proaches for the spirit's awakening, then celestial music, 
or some gentle manipulation, or the murmuring melody 
of distant streams, or something like breathing passes 
made over the sleeping one, causes 'sensation' to re- 
turn, and thus the new comer is introduced to the Sum- 
mer-Land." 

Probably the reader has had enough of this. It is 
really too silly to be a subject for criticism. • 

The doctrine of death and resurrection, commonly 
called orthodox Christian, is not very clearly defined 
even in the minds of believers, as all intelligent ones 
admit when questioned upon the subject. They too, 
believe in a spirit which retains its conscious existence 
and individuality, but as to what this spirit is, they ap- 
pear to have no clearly defined idea, in fact, their ideas 
upon the subject are somewhat contradictory. 

Sometimes the spirit is represented as being merely 
the mind, and therefore without form ; at other times it 
is represented as having form, and as visiting and min- 



OUR BIRTH INTO ANOTHER WORLD. 169 

istering to its friends in our world. And their ideas as 
to the resurrection are equally vague. The ignorant and 
unthinking class, believe that the identical body which 
was laid in the grave, is to be raised from it at some 
future period, Avhen the spirit will return and re-enter it. 

But the more intelligent class know that the identical 
particles of matter forming the body buried, cannot be 
again united in each and every case. It must then be 
a new body, having merely the appearance of the for- 
mer one. 

But if this is the case, there is no reason why the new 
body should be formed in the precise spot where the 
former one was buried. And as the idea is conveyed 
that the matter constituting the new body, is to be 
changed, so as to fit it for another world, there appears 
to be no reason why the body should not be formed in 
the other world, instead of being formed here, making 
it necessary for the spirit to come here for it. 

This doctrine seems to me as unphilosophical and 
unreasonable as that of Spiritualists. They are both 
entirely opposed to all the operations of nature which 
we daily witness. Therefore, as stated in reference to 
the theory of the origin of species,* I consider the expla- 

* I do not fully understand, and, owing to the difficulty of getting 
communications at present, have not endeavored to ascertain, how far 
the theory as to the origin of species, is based upon what they have 
witnessed in the death of the human species, and how far upon other 
facts. 

The question may perhaps occur to some, on reading Mr. Davis' 
statement of what he saw at Fort Donelson, " Suppose the head of an 
individual to be shattered by a cannon-ball — what would become in 
such a case of the germ described ?" 

I have stated that the germ was enclosed in material of the other 
world, and the material of our world — the cannon-ball— would have 
15 



170 THE INVISIBLES. 

nation given me of the birth of man into another world, 
as being far more probable than either of the two doc- 
trines above named. 

no effect upon this. The inhabitants of the other world pass through 
a solid wall of ours, without disturbing, or displacing the particles of 
matter composing it; and therefore a cannon-ball would pass through 
the material referred to without disturbing it. 



CHAPTER IV. 

EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA, COMMONLY CALLED 
SPIJRITTTAJL. 



I have stated in the preceding chapter, that the other 
world, and the bodies of its inhabitants, are composed 
of the same matter as our own ; and that the former are 
as solid and substantial as the latter. Also, that what 
I have designated as the material of the other world — 
by which I mean the combinations of matter forming it 
— extends from the center of our earth to the height of 
our atmosphere. 

It is difficult, if not quite impossible, for us to 
understand how this can be. It seems, at first, a contra- 
diction of the self-evident fact, that two bodies cannot 
occupy the same space. And the idea that a human 
body as substantial as our own, can pass through a stone 
wall, or that material as hard and compact as iron, can 
pass through iron without displacing the particles of 
either; and that this solid material is entirely impercep- 
tible by our senses of sight and feeling — will, I presume, 
strike some of my readers as being very absurd. 

Yet I think most scientific, or well educated persons, 
will admit that there is nothing in the statement contra- 

m 



172 THE INVISIBLES. 

dictory of any known fact. The truth is that we know 
nothing as to the real nature of matter. We only know 
how its different combinations affect our senses. 

"Of the intimate nature of matter the human facul- 
ties cannot take cognizance, nor can data be furnished, 
by observation or experiment, on which to found an 
investigation of it. All we know or ever can know of 
matter, is its sensible properties."* 

It would therefore be useless for me to attempt any 
explanation of this branch of my subject. And in this 
connection, there are other points which, for the reason 
that I do not understand the nature of matter, are also 
beyond my comprehension. 

We cannot see the other world or its inhabitants, yet 
the latter see our world and us. We cannot at will pass 
through the solid material of our world, yet those of 
the other pass without difficulty through the correspond- 
ing portion of theirs.f And a point more incompre- 
hensible to me than either of the foregoing, is, that 
those of the other world seem to have no power to move 
and confine each other by force, as with us. For ex- 
ample, it appears that Miss Allen and Julia, cannot be 
removed, and confined away from me. 

This is to me a great mystery; especially as they have 
power to lift and move inorganic material of their 
world. But at the same time, if they did not differ 
from us in this respect — if several could take hold of 
one, move him against his will, and confine him within 
walls, or in chains — then, so far as I can perceive, they 

* Brande's "Dictionary of Science, Literature and Art." 
f In moving, however, they displace the material of their world, 
precisely as we do that of ours. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 173 

would be liable to the same accidents as ourselves, and 
would wound and kill each other as we do. 

The matter of the other world being the same as that 
of our own, the difference in material being merely one 
of combination, or crystallization, the explanations of 
the most startling manifestations heretofore called spiri- 
tual — or those which have attracted most attention — are 
based upon the fact, that inhabitants of the other world 
are able to so change, for a short time, material of their 
world, that it resembles in its sensible properties — that 
is, in the properties sensible to us — the material of our 
own world; yet there remains a difference, which I can- 
not understand. 

The agent employed to effect this change, is electri- 
city, or, more strictly, the nervous fluid of individuals 
of our world. 

The other world and its inhabitants have also their 
electricity and nervous fluid, but they differ to some 
extent from ours, and will not effect the desired change. 

The nervous fluid is electricity, which by its passage 
through the brain has become vitalized,* as food does 
by passing through the digestive organs; and, like the 
elements composing the body, the nervous fluid is con- 
stantly passing from the system, when it again becomes 
common electricity. 

But so rapid is the passage of electricity, that the 

* This is not in accordance with the belief of any physiologist whose 
work I have read. In fact, many physiologists doubt whether the 
nervous fluid is at all of an electrical nature. One reason for this 
doubt is, that experiments have shown that the nerves are not good 
conductors of electricity. But if the doctrine I have given is correct, 
then, the nerves being conductors of vital electricity, experiments 
with common electricity prove nothing. 
15* 



174 THE INVISIBLES. 

nervous fluid, if it on leaving the body met a good con- 
ductor, would pass to a great distance before losing its 
distinctive character.* 

The nervous fluid is not used because it is better for 
the purpose than common electricity; on the contrary, 
the change effected by the brain in the electricity, has 
made it less adapted to the purpose. But as individu- 
als of the other world cannot manage a galvanic bat- 
tery of ours, they are obliged to make use of the human 
machine. 

The nervous fluid differs in each individual. That 
of an intellectual man differs from that of an unintel- 
lectual one; and that of a very intellectual man will not 
answer the purpose. As I understand the subject, the 
brain of an intellectual man causes too great a change 
in the electricity; it becomes, perhaps, too much like 
that of the other world; while the brain of an unintel- 
lectual person causes but slight — or much less — change. 

Hence no very intellectual man has ever been a rap- 
ping or tipping medium. 

The reader must discriminate between, what may be 
called, an intelligent person, and an intellectual one. A 
dog may be educated by man, so as to become more in- 
telligent than an uneducated ape; yet the ape is the 
superior animal. So there are many educated and well- 
informed men, who have but little intellectuality. A 
liberal education— in the true meaning of the term — 
does, however, have an effect upon the intellect, and but 
few well-educated men are, or can be made, rapping 
mediums. 

* The bearing of this fact will be perceived when I state hereafter 
that the fluid of some persons will not answer the purpose. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 175 

Of educated and intelligent female rapping mediums, 
there are many; but it is hardly necessary to state, that 
the female sex is not as intellectual as the male. Fe- 
males, as a rule, have comparatively feeble reasoning 
powers; they decide by impulse, or intuition, rather 
than by reasoning. Of course there are many excep- 
tions to the rule, but the exceptions have never been 
rapping mediums. 

The quantity of electricity passing through the brain, 
when the latter is in its normal state, is not sufficient to 
effect the change in material described: hence those of 
the other world have to increase the flow, by exciting 
the activity of the brain. This, of course, has an 
exhausting effect upon the medium. Even rapping can 
be continued but a certain length of time; and when the 
quantity of electricity required for other manifestations 
is still greater, the time of the performances is usually 
shortened. 

I once attended what is called, a " dark circle" — the 
room being darkened, where the performances were very 
violent and surprising — a large number of the other 
world probably being engaged in them, and therefore 
the quantity of electricity required being great, and in 
half an hour or less, the medium was so exhausted that 
she had to be conducted from the room. 

In order to excite this activity of brain, it is neces- 
sary that some one of the other world should become 
en rapport with the individual of ours whose brain is 
to be used. 

Here we come to another subject which we cannot 
fully understand, until we understand the connection of 
mind with matter ; I refer to the nature of this rapport. 






176 THE INVISIBLES. 

I can therefore merely state the fact, that only the low- 
est, vilest, and most unintellectual of the other world, have 
hitherto been able to acquire any considerable control 
of the brain of any one of our world. 

It appears that however uneducated a man may be 
while in this world, on entering the other, if he is fitted 
for it, he becomes unable to exercise this control over our 
brains. 

It is only those whose affections and thoughts are con- 
centrated upon this world, who are entirely unfitted for 
the other, and who would get back here if they could — 
and only the most unintellectual of this class — who have 
hitherto been able to communicate through mediums. 
This "remark applies not only to " rapping" and "tip- 
ping" mediums, but also to writing and all other 
kinds ; for in all cases it is necessary that the one of the 
other world communicating, should be en rapport with 
the medium. 

And now the reader can understand why it is that so 
much nonsense and falsehood, and so little truth or in- 
formation have been received through mediums, or seers 
— for the latter are merely impressible mediums. 

My own case is peculiar, and my present situation is 
partly the result of accidental causes, as the reader will 
perceive from the explanation of my narrative. 

At first Ellen, one of the most ignorant and stupid 
creatures with whom I ever conversed, had the control ; 
when she had become able to control my hand so as to 
write, Miss Allen, who, although one of the greatest 
liars that ever existed, and a perfect devil, is far more 
intellectual than Ellen, obtained the control by trickery. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 177 

Afterward, Miss Allen, to carry out a certain scheme, 
permitted Mr. Y and the Duke to write. 

It appears, then, that a change of some kind was first 
effected by Ellen, and afterward a still further change 
by Miss Allen ; but the nature of this change I cannot 
understand. It is nothing that affects my health, for 
this is as good now as it ever was. 

Nor can I fully understand why Miss Allen had more 
power than Ellen, when during the writing I thought 
of Mr. B , as is stated by Julia, nor how my think- 
ing of my father as being present, assisted Miss Allen 
in "killing" the power of Ellen. It appears, however, 
that my thinking of the individual brings him or her 
more closely en rapport with me, and the fact that Miss 
Allen is more nearly on the intellectual plane of Mr. 
B and my father than Ellen, is the only explana- 
tion I can at present give of the matter. 

I presume that my thinking, or forming in my mind 
an image of an entire stranger, merely from a descrip- 
tion given me of the appearance, would have little 
effect, although to a considerable extent the countenance 
is an indicator of character; but I received from inter- 
course with Ellen, Miss Allen, and Julia, as I would 
from intercourse with persons of our world, to a certain 
extent, a knowledge of the peculiarities of each, which 
were associated in my mind with them when thinking 
of either. 

It appears that Miss Allen made certain discoveries 
relative to the effect of my thinking, and other matters, 
which she at least did not before understand ; whether 
fully understood previously by any of the other world 
or not I do not know. 



178 THE INVISIBLES. 

At all events, I am informed that with my assistance, 
that is, by communicating with the individual through 
me — a medium could now be developed with whom the 
higher and better class of the other world could hold 
intercourse. 

One object in communicating through me would be, 
as stated, to prevent any one of the lower class getting 
control. 

But no one can communicate freely through me, at 
least at present, while Miss Allen and Julia oppose ; and 
it does not seem to me probable that either of these 
would assist in any very laudable undertaking. 

I shall, therefore, not lend my aid to such an under- 
taking unless one of my friends, or some one in whom 
I have confidence, shall become able to communicate 
more unrestrictedly with me, and satisfy me that good 
will result from the accomplishment of the purpose; 
and also, that the party (especially as I am told it must 
be a female), will not be subjected to the annoyances 
which I have experienced. And I can confidently state 
to any who may think of making the experiment, that 
without such directions from the other world, there is 
scarcely a possibility that any other than one of the low 
lying creatures would get the control. 

I will now proceed to explain more minutely the 
several phenomena ; first noticing that class performed 
by changing material of the other world, as described ; 
and afterward a class of a different character. 

I omitted to state in the proper place, that the 
material to be changed, is first chemically prepared. 

Happing. Material of the other world, which has 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 179 

been chemically prepared, is changed by means of the 
nervous fluid of the medium, — but usually not so that 
it becomes visible to us — and the sound is caused by 
striking with it on a table or other sonorous body. 

Many, if not most, Spiritualists believe that the raps 
are caused by discharges of electricity. But a discharge 
of electricity sufficiently violent to cause the loud sounds 
sometimes heard, and the vibration of the table felt, 
would shatter the latter, and probably affect more or less 
every one seated around it. 

Beings of the other world cannot lift or hold material 
of our world in their hands, and if that of theirs 
became by the change precisely like ours, they could no 
more hold it. Besides, it appears probable that if the 
material became in its nature in every respect like that 
of our world, it would remain so. It is therefore 
evident that although the material becomes in the prop- 
erties sensible to us like that of our world, there remains 
a difference which we cannot understand. 

A circle of individuals is not essential with some 
mediums, especially where only rapping or tipping is 
to be done; but by creating a current of electricity, it 
increases the quantity which can be made to pass through 
the brain of. the medium. 

Individuals have occasionally become mediums of 
this class without sitting for the purpose; but a circle 
aids in the matter; and besides, the act of sitting and 
thinking that beings of the other world are present, 
seems to have an effect. Hence the number of me- 
diums, since the rise of modern Spiritualism, has vastly 
increased. 

The questions propounded for answers through me- 



180 THE INVISIBLES. 

diumSj are understood from reading the inquirer's mind, 
and the answers given are of course frequently obtained 
in the same way. 

Those of the other world are not able to read ordinary 
writing of ours, and the act of writing has no other 
effect than to fix the question more distinctly in the 
inquirer's mind. 

Visitors to mediums are frequently directed to write 
the names of several deceased persons of their acquaint- 
ance, and then to ask which of the individuals is present. 
But it is very evident that if either of them was 
present, he could announce himself as well without this 
process as with it. This operation is merely to give 
those of the other world present, an opportunity of 
ascertaining who the visitor wishes to hear from, as in 
writing the name, this feeling is usually manifested. 

All mediums of this class are surrounded by many of 
the other world, but one alone has control of the brain, 
the others obtaining the questions, and one of them 
rapping out the answers. 

It will be perceived, therefore, that if any friend of 
the visitor, or any one of the other world who wished 
to give the truth and expose the deceptions was present, 
and attempted to do so, the one in control of the 
medium — who is always a devil — has power to prevent 
this by stopping the unusual flow of electricity. 

There are occasional interruptions in circles, which 
Spiritualists believe are caused, sometimes by a "bad 
spirit," at other times by the harmony of the circle 
being disturbed by some one individual present ; and it 
is not unfrequently intimated by the "spirits" that a 
particular individual must leave the circle. 





EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 181 

There may be various causes for this. Sometimes the 
interruption, or interference, may be by a "spirit" as 
bad as those communicating ; at others, by a good 
" spirit" wishing to prevent the deceptions, and deter- 
mined that at all events, a friend present shall not be 
deceived; and at other times the "spirits" may perceive 
that the individual required to leave is altogether too 
skeptical. 

I would not wish to be understood as intimating that 
no one of our world has ever received a communication 
from a friend in the other. But the latter could only 
communicate what the one in control of the medium 
allowed him to, and therefore, for the reason given by 
Julia, such communications have been very rare. 

Suppose that one of the better class of the other world 
should, through a medium, communicate with a friend 
in our world, and fully satisfy — as of course he could — 
that friend of his identity; — then throughout the re- 
mainder of this individual's life in our world, he would 
be liable to all manner of deceptions by the lying crea- 
tures of the other, which the friend would be unable to 
prevent. 

Tipping and lifting tables, and other bodies of our world. 
As the whole body of a being of the other world would 
pass through a table, or other material of ours, of course 
their hands would do so. The table would offer no 
resistance to the passage of their hands, and therefore 
would not be moved. 

To lift the table, therefore, their hands are covered 
with material of their own world, prepared and changed 
as before described. 

16 



182 THE INVISIBLES. 

Here again, it is evident that if the material became 
precisely like that of our world, it would offer no more 
resistance to the movements of their hands than the 
table, and therefore would not enable them to lift the 
latter. 

Any rapping medium can be used as a tipping, or 
lifting medium, but all of the latter class cannot be 
used as rapping mediums. The nervous fluid of an in- 
dividual may so far change the material of the other 
world that it will avail to tip, or even lift entirely a 
table; and yet not have power to change it far enough 
to be used for rapping. It does not become, as we would 
term it, hard enough to produce a distinct sound when 
struck against a body of our world. Hence, communi- 
cations through such mediums are given by tipping a 
table or some article of furniture. 

The remarks made in reference to rapping mediums, 
apply also to this class and all others, and need not be 
repeated. 

Noises of various kinds are made by these two modes, 
namely, by direct percussion with the changed material 
of their world, or by moving by means of it bodies of 
our world. Those of the other world have no other 
means of making noises sensible to us. But these dis- 
turbances may be produced in a different room from that 
in which the medium is, by means of a conductor of 
electricity leading from the medium to the material. 
This conductor being differently prepared from the ma- 
terial to be changed, is not affected so as to become sen- 
sible to us, and the partition wall does not interfere with 
the operation. Disturbances cannot, however, be made 
at any great distance from the medium. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 183 

Artificial hands, called " spirit hands." A covering for 
the hands is made of the prepared material, which, when 
exhibited, is changed as described. In this case the 
material is so far changed as to become visible to us, 
and sensible to our touch, which can only be done with 
the fluid of comparatively few mediums. 

Sometimes a considerable portion of the arm is cov- 
ered ; and these exhibitions present the singular specta- 
cle of a hand, or a hand and portion of the arm, ap- 
parently supported by nothing. 

Sometimes the hand is covered as by a sack, and no 
fingers or thumb are visible ; at other times it is cov- 
ered as by a glove, and a very perfect-looking hand is 
exhibited. 

These hands have been seen by thousands, probably 
by hundreds of thousands. I have both seen and felt 
them. 

Artificial Apparitions. Spiritualists believe that the 
"spirits" have power to change their bodies, so that 
they become visible to our natural sight ; and most of 
them, I think, also believe that some persons have, what 
they call, an " interior perception," or " spiritual sight," 
by which they perceive the spirits in their material state, 
and also the "spirit world." The individuals supposed 
to possess this faculty are called "seers," and "seeresses." 

The inhabitants of the other world have no more 
power to change their bodies than we have to change 
ours ; and no one of our world ever has, or ever can, 
see them. 

Most apparitions are merely of an impressional char- 



184 THE INVISIBLES. 

acter, in other words, they are mere hallucinations. I 
will describe these hereafter. 

What I will call artificial apparitions, are formed in 
the same way as the artificial hands. The dress is made 
of material of the other world, of the form and color 
to be exhibited, a mask for the face prepared in the 
same way, the hair, when any is exhibited, being formed 
of material resembling flax or silk of our world ; then 
the whole is passed through a chemical process, and 
when the figure is to be exhibited, it is connected with 
the medium by conductors of electricity, and changed 
by the action of the nervous fluid. 

A number of the other world are always required in 
these exhibitions, and much preparation is necessary ; 
besides there are comparatively few mediums who will 
serve for this purpose. Hence this class of apparitions 
are very rare. I have never myself seen one, and they 
have been seen by very few. Still, having seen and felt 
the artificial hands, I have no difficulty in believing 
that the whole figure ,may be produced in the same 
way. 

These masks, however carefully prepared, will not, of 
course, bear close examination by any one at all skepti- 
cal, and therefore they are never exhibited in a well 
lighted apartment. 

As a mask, and not the real face, is seen, the appa- 
rition is no evidence that the individual whose likeness 
is exhibited is present ; but it is evident that all con- 
nected with the exhibition are liars, for they make those 
seeing the figure, believe that they see the real face. 
Frequently communications to this effect are given. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 185 

Artificial flowers, are formed in the same way, and 
other things of similar character. 

Writing and drawing, without using the hand of a me- 
dium, playing on certain kinds of musical instruments, etc., 
are performed by first forming the artificial hand; 
which may or may not be visible to us. 

The blowing and speaking through horns, sometimes 
practiced by mediums, is a deception. As these things 
are practiced in a darkened room, and the hands of the 
medium are tied, some of the audience are induced to 
believe that the "spirits" blow and speak through the 
horns. But all that the " spirits" can do is to raise the 
horn to the lips of the medium, and the blowing and 
speaking is done by the latter. 

Forming letters and loords on the arm or person of a 
medium. These exhibitions are generally limited to a 
single word, usually either the first, or surname of a 
former acquaintance of the visitor. The letters are 
irregular, slightly raised, or convex, and of a purplish 
color. 

Material is prepared of a drawing nature — somewhat 
similar to some plasters used by us — or which will be so 
when changed. In this material — prepared in the form 
of a plate or plaster — the name is written with a 
pointed instrument, the letters being concave. The 
plate or plaster is then applied to the arm or person of 
the medium, and the change in the' material being 
effected, by suction the skin is drawn into the concave 
letters with sufficient violence to produce the convex 
letters on the skin, and the purplish color is owing to 

16* 



186 THE INVISIBLES. 

the same cause that produces it when a bruise of any 
kind is experienced. 

The operation is usually, if not always, performed 
when the arm or spot is covered, but the dress does not 
interfere with the material until the latter undergoes the 
change, and this is not effected until it is placed upon 
the skin ; and when it is to be removed, the current of 
electricity is withdrawn, and it returns to its natural 
state. 

As I understand the matter, these letters could be 
produced without the material being so changed as 
to be visible to us; but I am not aware that the opera- 
tion is ever performed without the spot being covered. 

The medium whom I visited went through the cere- 
mony of taking hold of my hand during the operation. 
Probably the spirits had told him to do so, but it has 
nothing whatever to do with the operation. 

Electric lights, are produced by preparing material of 
their world so that the passage of electricity through it 
will cause the lights. 

Tying and untying ropes. Those of the other world 
have power, not only to change material of their world 
so that it becomes sensible to us, but also to change that 
of ours so that it can be handled by them. The ropes 
having been prepared by those of the other world by a 
chemical process, are changed by means of the nervous 
fluid of the medium, and then tied and untied in the 
same way that we would do it. 

The ropes used by mediums who exhibit this pheno- 
nenon, are carried with them from place to place. If 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 187 

they were bound with new ropes, not selected until the 
time for the trial, there would at least be considerable 
delay in unbinding them, and the probability is that it 
would not be undertaken.* 

Why most of these things are performed in partial dark- 
ness, or under a table. Spiritualists believe that light, 
and the human eye, have an effect to prevent, or hinder, 
the phenomena. JBut this is all nonsense. The only 
reason for performing in darkness, or under a table, is . 
the fear of detection. 

They have feared that if any portion of the pheno- 
mena became fully understood, this might lead to a 
solution of the whole, and ultimately to the understand- 
ing that we could not receive communications from our 
friends through mediums. Then, of course, their occu- 
pation, which they dearly love, would be gone. 

I will now explain phenomena of a different character. 

Writing by using the hand of a medium. In this case 
also, the individual of the other world must become 
intimately en rapport with the medium, so that when 
the latter allows his will to remain passive, it is con- 

* If the mediums were loosely bound, they might be unbound by 
means of the artificial hands; for a medium whose fluid will serve to 
change material of our world, can be used to change that of the other. 
But when the ropes are tightly tied, as they usually are in such expe- 
riments, they cannot be untied with the artificial hands, for these are 
somewhat stiff and unmanageable. 

' I have described writing and drawing — when the hand of a medium 
is not used — as being done by forming an artificial hand. This is the 
usual mode; but sometimes the material of our world used maybe 
temporarily changed, as the above ropes are, when it can be handled 
in the same way. 



\ 



188 THE INVISIBLES. 

trolled by that of the former. Then the one of the 
other world, placing his hand on, or in (one word is 
about as correct as the other), that of the medium, and 
making the required motions, the hand of the latter 
moves with that of the former. 

The hand is so placed merely to enable the one of the 
other world to properly exercise his own will, which he 
cannot do without making the motions with his own 
hand. 

It will be understood, that he has no direct control of 
the medium's hand, he controls it only through the will, 
or brain, of the medium, the action of which is governed 
by his own. 

The remarks made in reference to the former class of 
phenomena, to the effect that no very intellectual person 
could be a medium for the purpose, do not apply to this 
class, as the nervous fluid is not used in the same way. 
But the statement that only the lowest class of the other 
world have hitherto been able to gain control, applies to 
all classes of mediums. 

Impressional ajiparitions. Most of what are called 
apparitions are merely hallucinations, or illusions, pro- 
duced either by a diseased state of the organs of vision, 
or the brain, or by beings of the other M r orld. It is the 
latter class only that I. have to explain. 

They are produced in the same way by which the 
vision of the tea-pot, described in my narrative, was 
produced in my mind. The one of the other world en 
rapport with an individual of ours, forms the image in 
his own mind, and by impression it is re-produced in 
the mind of the other. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 189 

In the same way visions of scenery and other objects 
can be produced; and these hallucinations, produced 
either in this way or by disease, are the visions of seers 
and seeresses. 

It will be perceived that here also, as in the case of 
an artificial apparition, the mere apparition, without any 
corroborating circumstances, is no evidence that the 
person supposed to be seen was really present; not even 
when the apparition was produced by an inhabitant 
of the other world; for the latter could form in his 
mind the image of another person, as readily as his own 
likeness. 

But as these apparitions are easily produced — the con- 
trol of the brain being required only partially and 
momentarily — those of the other world do sometimes 
thus manifest their presence to their friends in this. It 
is not essential for this purpose, that the individual 
should be, what is called, a medium; the apparition may 
be produced once, when his mind happens to be in an 
unusually receptive state, and never again in the course 
of his life. 

I have, during the greater portion of my life, been 
subject at times to hallucinations, caused, as I formerly 
supposed and do still, by a diseased state of the nervous 
system ; sometimes the visions were of men and women, 
sometimes of scenery; and I can perceive very little 
difference between those now produced by beings of the 
other world, and the former. I don't know that I could 
discriminate at all, did I not know that these beings are 
with me, and feel a slight magnetic influence when the 
apparition is produced. 

But I never, in either case, supposed that I really saw 



190 THE INVISIBLES. 

the objects, and although the apparitions may possibly 
be more life-like, or apparently real, with some persons 
than with myself, yet I doubt whether any person of 
ordinary intelligence and powers of discrimination, need 
be so deceived as to imagine that he really sees the 
object. There is a difference — at least so far as my 
experience goes — between these hallucinations, and the 
perception of objects by the natural sight, which I can- 
not explain. 

In my own case there is this difference between the 
ordinary hallucinations, and those produced by beings 
of the other world; the former I never experienced 
except in the night when lying in bed, my wakefulness 
probably being caused by nervousness; while now, those 
of the other world can produce them in the day- 
time. This distinction, however, would not apply to 
every one. 

It will be understood from this description how it is 
that those of the other world, when they do thus really 
manifest their presence to their friends in this, generally 
appear, in reference to age, dress, etc., the same as they 
did when in our world. They form in their minds, 
not the precise likeness of themselves as they now are, 
but the likeness familiar to their friends. 

Talking with an individual of our world. This is a 
very rare phenomenon, and can only occur with an indi- 
vidual of a peculiar nervous organization. 

Ideas can be communicated to a great many, but it is 
generally impossible, even for the individual, to deter- 
mine whether the idea originated with himself, or was 
communicated. 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 191 

Again, words can be communicated to a considerable 
number — called impressible mediums — who have no 
sensation of hearing the words spoken. 

Having been communicated with in both these modes, 
I am able to distinguish the difference between them 
and the phenomenon of which I am treating. 

In the two former cases, no words are spoken by the 
one of the other world. The ideas or words are formed 
in his mind, and impressed upon the mind of the other, 
in substantially the same way that apparitions are pro- 
duced; and the only difference in these two cases is, 
that in the second the two individuals are more inti- 
mately en rapport. 

But these impressible mediums are all liable to be 
self-deceived, and to imagine they are receiving a com- 
munication from the other world, when such is not the fact. 

In what I have called talking, the individual of the 
other world does actually speak to the one of ours, 
precisely as we speak to each other; and the individual 
spoken to has precisely the same sensation of hearing as 
if spoken to by one of our world; and the liability to 
imagine that we hear when we are not spoken to, is 
much less than the liability to imagine that an impres- 
sion from some foreign source is received by an indivi- 
dual who believes such a thing possible. 

When my faculty of hearing those of the other World 
had become most developed, I could no more mistake, 
in this matter, than I could as to being spoken to by one 
of this world. 

Sometimes, when one would endeavor to prevent 
another from speaking to me, the latter would enunci- 



192 THE INVISIBLES. 

ate each word slowly, and as distinctly as possi ble, appa- 
rently straining the voice to the utmost. 

While as to visions, I was always able to discriminate 
between hallucinations and perceptions by natural sight, 
in this matter of hearing my senses entirely deceived 
me; and it is impossible for me even now, to realize 
when they speak to me (which to the extent of a few 
words is occasionally effected), that I do not hear in the 
ordinary way. 

But, as now explained to me, no vibration of our 
atmosphere is produced, and therefore no sound reaches 
my brain through the organs of hearing. 

I have stated in reference to writing by using the 
hand of a medium, that it was necessary for the one of 
the other world to make the movements with his own 
hand. So in this phenomenon, it seems to be necessary 
that the one of the other world should actually speak, 
and when interfered with speak with the utmost energy 
in order that the individual of our world may have 
the sensation of hearing. 

But what causes this sensation? This is a question 
that cannot be fully and clearly answered, until we 
understand how perception reaches the mind through the 
organs of hearing; or, in other words, the connection 
between mind and matter. 

It can now be understood how — as stated in my 
narrative — Miss Allen and Julia, before they could 
communicate by speaking, could do so by merely moving 
my hand in imitation of writing. They had become 
almost able to convey the words by impression, and by 
moving my hand in imitation of writing, they thinking 
of the words as being written, the impression that they 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 193 

were written was made upon my mind. They had 
become en rapport with me through writing; had become 
able to write very rapidly — at length it was not essential 
that the writing should be very legible — and finally not 
necessary that actual writing should be performed at all. 
The process was a gradual one. I suppose that if they 
had become en rapport in some other manner, the 
imitation of writing would not have assisted them in 
communicating. 

And it can now also be understood, how my friends 
are prevented from communicating with me, either by 
writing with my hand, talking, or distinctly impressing 
the words upon my mind. 

Answering letters without opening them. How a medium 
could answer a letter sent him from a distance of several 
hundred miles, without opening it, was formerly about as 
much of a mystery to me as any part of the phenomena. 

But the explanation is very simple. The operation 
is the same as if the writer was present ; the contents of 
the letter are obtained from his mind at the time he 
writes it. 

If an individual who had never at all investigated 
the subject termed spiritualism, or thought about it, 
should happen to see an advertisement of one of these 
mediums, and on the impulse of the moment should 
write and enclose him a letter, the probability is that it 
would not be answered; for none of these mediums 
answer all letters sent them, or even pretend that they 
can do so. 

But very few, if any, of the letters are thus written. 
In almost every instance the writer has been for some 

17 



194 THE INVISIBLES. 

time previous more or less interested in the subject. He 
has probably visited "circles," or mediums, or meetings 
of spiritualists, and has thus attracted to himself one or 
more beings of the other world who endeavor to increase 
his interest. 

When therefore he sits down to w T rite the letter, one 
of the other world is with him, and obtains from his 
mind a knowledge of what is written. This being, 
having a mode of identifying the envelope, (not from the 
hand-writing, however), goes and communicates the con- 
tents of the letter, with such information as he has been 
able to obtain from the writer's mind for reply, to the 
one in control of the medium. The distance is compar- 
atively nothing to them, and these public mediums are 
better known to this class of the other world than to us. 

Many spiritualists seem to have an idea that mediums 
for answering sealed letters are a peculiar class. But 
this is not the fact, it can be done through any well- 
known medium; but a rapping or tipping medium could 
not well serve for answering lengthy letters, as the pro- 
cess is too tedious. 

The operation of answering questions written on 
several pieces of paper, each rolled into a ball, and the 
whole so mingled that the writer does not know what is 
written on the particular piece presented for an answer, 
is the same as the foregoing, whether the papers were 
prepared in the presence of the medium, or before visit- 
ing him. 

If these statements are correct, some idea can be 
formed of the vast number of these miserable creatures 
of the other world, spending most of their time about 



EXPLANATIONS OF PHENOMENA. 195 

ours; and also, of the interest they take in continuing 
this intercourse. 

Clairvoyance, spiritual-sight, second-sight, and every- 
thing of that character, designated by various names, are 
delusions: these visions are either caused by disease, or by 
impressions from the mind either of an individual of 
our world or the other. 

I have described and explained all the most prominent 
phenomena. If the reader has witnessed any other of a 
genuine character, he can, I think, understand how they 
are performed, from the foregoing explanations. It must 
be borne in mind, however, that all claiming to be me- 
diums are not really such, and from what I have heard, 
I think it possible that some real mediums do occasion- 
ally perform tricks when the phenomena are not other- 
wise satisfactory. 

I refer to the class who make a livelihood by this 
means ; some of whom I know, profess to " tell fortunes," 
or rather, that the "spirits" do so through them. This 
is a deception, either by the "spirits," or the mediums, 
or both. 

I am aware that the power of changing material, 
which I have stated those of the other world possess, is 
something unknown to us. It is owing, as I under- 
stand, to the greater power of their chemicals. As we 
can by the same process effect a somewhat analogous 
change, the statement, it appears to me, is not incredible, 
although to most of those who have never witnessed the 
phenomena described, it will perhaps appear so. To 
those familiar with the phenomena, the statement can be 
no more astounding than what they have actually wit- 
nessed ; and I can conceive of no other explanation so 



196 THE INVISIBLES. 

much in harmony with operations constantly taking 
place in our world. 

The question may occur to some, " If these beings are 
so very ignorant and unintellectual as you state, how is 
it that they understand and can execute this wonderful 
process?" 

The discovery was made by educated persons, and 
sometimes individuals more intelligent than those able 
to control the medium, assist in the deceptions. But 
when an individual is once shown how to make mortar, 
for example, it requires but little intellect to make it 
again, and the same is true of most other chemical 
operations. 



CHAPTER V. 

REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 

Foe the purpose of, in some measure, testing the 
theories I have given, I will notice a variety of narra- 
tives bearing upon the subject, contained in other works. 

The best authenticated collection of narratives that I 
have seen is contained in a work of Hon. Robert Dale 
Owen, entitled, " Footfalls on the Boundary of Another 
World."* 

I have read a larger and more pretentious work by 
William Howitt,f of England, but it is mainly filled 
with the beliefs of ancient nations in supernaturalism, 
and with statements not well authenticated; in short, 
facts are so mingled with fables in the work, that it is 
not suitable for my purpose. I will therefore confine 
myself mainly to the former work ; but as Mr. Owen 
says very little about "seers" or " seer esses," I will give 
a few extracts from Mr. Howitt's work relative to this 
class of individuals. 

First, however, I will give Mr. Howitt's idea of the 
supernatural, as stated in his preface. 

" The author of this work intends by the super- 

* " Footfalls on the Boundary of Another World," by Robert Dale Owen, 
Philadelphia; J. B. Lippincott and Co., 1865. 

f "History of the Supernatural," by Wm. Howitt, Philadelphia; J. 
B. Lippincott and Co., 1863. 

17 * 197 



198 THE INVISIBLES. 

natural the operation of those higher and more recon- 
dite laws of God, with which, being yet but most im- 
perfectly acquainted, we either denominate their eifects 
miraculous, or, shutting our eyes firmly, deny their ex- 
istence altogether. So far from holding that what are 
called miracles are interruptions or violations of the 
course of nature, he regards them only as the results of 
spiritual laws, which in their occasional action subdue, 
suspend or neutralize the less powerful physical laws, 
just as a stronger chemical affinity subdues a weaker 
one, producing new combinations, but combinations 
strictly in accordance with the collective laws of the 
universe, whether understood, or not yet understood 
by us." 

This is very far from being the true meaning of the 
word supernatural. Webster's definition is, " Being 
above or beyond the laws of nature" and this is the sense 
in which the word is generally used. My own belief 
on this point is about the same as that of Mr. Howitt, 
but instead of giving a new definition to the word su- 
pernatural, it appears to me more proper to say that I do 
not believe in the supernatural at all. 

But as to Mr. Howitt's idea that the laws governing 
the intercourse between the other world and ours, — for 
this is the subject of his work, and therefore what I sup- 
pose he alludes to — are higher and more recondite than 
those with which we are familiar, if I have given a cor- 
rect explanation of the phenomena, there are here no 
laws higher or more recondite than those, the operation 
of which we witness every day. In fact so far as re- 
gards the phenomena which we witness, the laws appear 
to be the same as those with which we are familiar. 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 199 

I will now notice very briefly what Mr. Howitt says 
about seers and seeresses, in whose marvelous faculties 
he has the most implicit confidence. 

He reviews Dr. Kerner's life of the " Seeress of Pre- 
vorst," or Madame Hauffe', a German lady who died 
in 1829. 

I have read the work of Dr. Kerner, and conclude 
Madame Hauffe' was what is now called a medium and 
nothing more ; and that she was deceived as other me- 
diums are. One of these deceptions was, that the "spir- 
its" came to her to be prayed for. 

"They came, it is stated, often very black or gray, 
for moral purity or impurity is no metaphysical quality, 
but a real one, and as conspicuous in spirits as a dirty 
or clear complexion in human beings. She granted 
their requests, prayed with them, sang hymns with 
them, and growing clearer, whiter and brighter, they 
eventually took their leave, with thanks, for a higher 
sphere." 

It is the belief of many spiritualists at the present 
day that spirits visit them, and visit circles for the pur- 
pose of being prayed for, and that they are benefitted 
by such prayers. Why they could not be as much 
benefitted by the prayers of people of their own world 
I have never heard explained. 

The truth is, this class of beings — those who com- 
municate with mediums — have no religious sentiment 
whatever, nor the slightest desire to become better. 
When in our world most, or at least many of them, had 
probably at times, more or less of what passes with most 
people for religious feeling, that is, they were fearful of 
future physical punishment. But on entering the other 



200 THE INVISIBLES. 

world and finding they are not physically punished, and 
seeing no more evidence of there being a God than they 
did while here, any desires they may have here felt to 
live a better life, have entirely left them, and their 
soliciting prayers, or giving religious advice, is jnerely 
in mockery or for amusement, or to carry out their 
deceptions. 

I copy further relative to the seeress. 

"Other extraordinary developments in her, were her 
Sonnenkreise and Lebenskreise, sun-circles and life- 
circles. After a time of great suffering in October, 
1827, she said that she felt a ring encircling her, and 
fastened to her left side. That it was no imaginary, 
but a real ring, lying heavy upon her, and it lay upon 
the nerves, and consisted of nerve spirit. Under this 
ring she felt six other rings. Within this larger ring 
she perceived an inner ring of three circles. This inner 
ring she called her life-circle, the soul residing in the 
center, and looking forth into the large outer circle, 
which she called her sun-circle. 

"There is some little confusion in her description, for 
the six lesser circles under the large circle, and which 
eventually became seven, she also calls sun-circles. The 
meaning seems to be that the inner or life-circle is the 
sphere of the spiritual life, the outer circle with its lesser 
circles is the circle of the outer life, the lesser circles so 
many years. These represented her outer experiences 
since she fell into the magnetic state, and the last was 
cut in two in a particular direction, rendering a certain 
number of months quite blank. During this time she 
had no consciousness of what passed outwardly. This 
period was a blank in her memory. The outer or sun- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 201 

circle was divided into twelve sections — months; the 
inner one into thirteen and a half. These circles, she 
said, were always in motion, and every seven years the 
seven sun-circles fell away and seven more appeared. 
Every person, she said, had two numbers connected with 
their lives. Her numbers were seven and ten, and 
within these numbers events came round in cycles. 

"But the most remarkable thing connected with these 
circles is, that the balance of every day's good and evil 
is summed up and expressed in a cypher, and carried 
into the next day ; the weeks, the months, and the years 
the same. At the end of every day, week, month, and 
year, this cypher, expressing the exact balance for or 
against the individual, stands self-registered ; and so, at 
the end of his life there stands a cypher expressing the 
exact moral account of the individual. Therefore the 
moment the soul steps out of the body, it carries with it, 
written on its breast, the exact sum of the good or evil 
of its whole existence." 

And Mr. Howitt adds, "This is a startling idea. 
That we have in our own souls a self-registering prin- 
ciple, going on in its operations independent of our con- 
trol, and presenting our exact spiritual condition at the 
moment of our entrance into the spirit-world." 

Rather startling, and a very wonderful machine. 

But as only the balance of the account is expressed 
by the cypher, in case the 'debit and credit columns 
footed up the same at the individual's death he would 
enter the spirit world with no spiritual condition at all. 
In that case what sphere would he go to? 

"Swedenborg, of whom the seeress knew nothing 
whatever, alludes to exactly such circles. 'The base 



202 THE INVISIBLES. 

and false have their seat in the natural mind, whence it 
comes that this mind is a world in small or in form; 
and the spiritual mind a heaven in small or in form, 
and into the heaven nothing evil can come. Both 
minds are bowed out into circles.' The seeress, know- 
ing nothing of Swedenborg, asserted the same doctrine 
as the Swedish seer, that there is a spiritual sun as well 
as a natural sun — the spiritual sun she termed the sun 
of grace. 

'"There is a higher sun than that visible to us,' says 
Swedenborg. 'Above the angel-heaven is a sun, pure 
love. It shines as fervently as the sun of the world. 
The warmth of this sun gives will and love to angels 
and to men. Light, wisdom, understanding, flowing 
from it, are called spiritual.'" 

This is, if possible, more silly than the seeress' account 
of the wonderful machine. 

I will next notice what Mr. Howitt says about two 
American " Seers," — Andrew Jackson Davis and Thomas 
L. Harris. 

Of Mr. Davis he says, — "His clairvoyance was ad- 
vanced into clairscience. He beheld all the essential 
natures of things: saw the interior of men and animals 
as perfectly as their exterior, and described them in 
language so correct that the most able technologists could 
not surpass him. He pointed out the proper remedies 
for all the complaints, and the shops where they were to 
be obtained. The life of all nature appeared laid before 
him; and he saw the metals in the earth like living 
flames, and lights and flames emanating from every 
portion of the living structure of men and animals. 
The most distant regions and their various productions 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 203 

were present before him. Everything appeared to him, 
as to all clairvoyants, clothed with its peculiar atmos- 
phere; not only living forms, but every grain of salt or 
sand, the minutest bones and tendrils, mineral and earthy 
substances, had this colored atmosphere. As George 
Fox and Swedenborg before him, he declared that the 
whole of creation was opened to him; that he saw the 
names of all things in their natures, as Adam saw them. 
He saw how every animal represented some one or more 
qualities of men and their vices and virtues, just as Fox 
and Swedeijborg had asserted ; and he gave even Greek 
and Latin names to things, whilst in his ordinary state 
he could not even write or speak decent English." 

Here is a phenomenon which, although common, is 
about as unaccountable as any connected with this 
subject, namely, that intelligent and in other respects 
apparently sensible persons, should believe that an 
individual possesses such a faculty, simply upon his own 
unsupported assertion. 

It should be evident to every one of common sense 
that if Mr. Davis possesses this power he could prove 
the fact beyond all question. Neither Mr. Davis nor any 
other "seer" or "clairvoyant" can see through a single 
sheet of opaque paper, nor can they see any further than 
others of good natural eyesight. This matter has been 
tested time and again, but when tested some paltry 
excuse is given, such as that the "conditions" are not 
right, or something of the kind. 

" One of the characteristics of Mr. Davis's spiritual- 
ism is, that it is not Christian but simply theistic. This 
no doubt belongs to his place in the progressive order 
of development. He is in the hands of pagan or 



204 THE INVISIBLES. 

rather pantheistic spirits, and represents the ancient 
philosophic paganism." 

If Mr. Davis is deceived in this respect, as I infer, it 
must be that paganism does not affect the color, for 
otherwise as he can see " spirits," he would see that he 
is in bad hands. But I can't understand how these 
ancient pagans can have been in a situation to learn the 
modern English language, and not have learned as to 
the truth of Christianity. At all events, I should sup- 
pose that so situated they were in a better position for 
learning the truth about it than we are. 

As Davis is in the pagan sphere, out of his sphere, 
Mr. Howitt says, " was developed Harris, who step by 
step has ascended into the highest region of Christian 
spiritualism." 

li We find that Mr. Harris, wonderfully attracted by 
the 'Divine Revelations of Nature' of Davis, became 
one of his most enthusiastic disciples. But that was 
not the place where he was to stay. The Christian 
must develop out of the pagan cycle. In his earlier 
spiritual inspirations Harris became a poetic medium 
and dictated whole epics, under the supposed influence 
of Byron, Shelley, Keats, Pollok, etc. Whoever were 
the poetic spirits who infused those poems, they are 
specimens of poetry of the highest order. Speaking of 
the ' Lyric of the Golden Age,' Mr. Brittan, the pub- 
lisher, says, and not more eulogistically than justly, 
'This lyric has scarcely less than Miltonic grandeur. 
The descriptive parts are wonderful as illustrations of 
the compass of our language. It would severely tax 
the capabilities of the most gifted mind to coin its 
phraseology alone, which however is neither strained 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 205 

nor far-fetched, but natural, flowing and melodious as a 
valley brook.' " 

Why this poetry has been so poorly appreciated by 
literary critics and the reading community, Mr. Howitt 
does not attempt to explain. It can't be claimed that 
it is because the poetry is not believed to be true, or a 
poetic narrative of facts, for Milton's Paradise Lost is 
not thus believed. 

"But the progress of Harris into an inspirational 
oratory is still more surprising. He claims, by opening 
up his interior being, to receive influx of divine intuition 
in such abundance and power as to throw off under its 
influence the most astonishing strains of eloquence. 
This receptive and communicative power he attributes to 
an internal spiritual breathing, corresponding to the 
outer natural breathing. As the bodily lungs imbibe 
and respire air, so he contends, the spiritual lungs imbibe 
and respire the divine aura, refluent with the highest 
thought and purest sentiment, and that without any 
labor or trial of brain. Swedenborg teaches the same 
mystery, and catholics also of devotional temperament." 

If Swedenborg teaches this it is not surprising that 
Harris should, for the latter is a close imitator of the 
former. The idea of spiritual lungs imbibing and 
respiring "the divine aura refluent with the highest 
thought and purest sentiment," is about on a par with 
that of the "sun pure love" from which flows love, 
wisdom, understanding, etc. 

"That the preacher was also the prophet was most 
clearly proclaimed by his suddenly hastening home,* 
declaring that it was revealed to him that 'the nether- 

* He was at this time in England. 
18 



206 THE INVISIBLES. 

most hells were let loose in America.' This was before 
the public breach betwixt North and South had taken 
place ; but it soon followed, only too deeply to demon- 
strate the truth of the spiritual intimation." 

If Mr. Harris intended to predict civil war, it would 
have been as easy to say so, as to say that "the nether- 
most hells were let loose." But in using the former 
language he might have made a false prediction, in 
using the latter he was perfectly safe from conviction in 
any event. 

But at the time this prediction is said to have been 
made, many persons in this country, and I presume in 
England, predicted — not in ambiguous, but in clear and 
precise language — that there would be war between 
North and South, yet these individuals now make no 
claim to being prophets. What nonsense it is then for 
Mr. Howitt to assert that Harris "was most clearly pro- 
claimed" by this event to be a prophet. 

In my brief notice of seers and seeresses, I have con- 
fined myself to the work of Mr. Howitt, instead of ex- 
tracting from the works of the former, because I have 
at present none of these before me, and also, because it 
may be presumed that Mr. Howitt would present their 
• claims in what he considers the strongest light. My 
main object was to show what nonsense is believed by 
spiritualists. 

Mr. Howitt gives a narrative in support of the 
theory of vision by abnormal means, which I will 
copy. It is taken from a work of Townshend on Mes- 
merism. 

"A doctor of Antwerp was allowed at a sSance to 
impose his own tests; the object of the seance being to 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 207 

demonstrate vision by abnormal means. He said be- 
forehand, 'If the somnambulist tells me what is in my 
pocket, I will believe.' The patient having entered 
into somnambulism, was asked by him the question, 
'What is in my pocket?' She immediately replied, 'A 
case of lancets.' 'It is true,' said the doctor, somewhat 
startled ; ' but the young lady may know that I am one 
of the medical profession, and that I am likely to carry 
lancets, and this may be a guess ; but if she will tell me 
the number of the lancets in the case I will believe.' 
The number of lancets was told. The skeptic still 
said, 'I cannot yet believe; but if the form of the case 
is accurately described, I must yield to conviction.' 
The form of the case was accurately described. 'This 
certainly is very singular,' said the doctor, 'very indeed; 
but still I cannot believe; but if the young lady can 
tell me the color of the velvet that lines the case that 
contains the lancets, I really must believe.' The ques- 
tion being put, the young lady directly said, 'The color 
is dark blue.' The doctor allowed that she was right; 
yet he went away repeating, 'Very curious, yet still I 
cannot believe.' " 

Mr. Howitt says, " Nor could the doctor have believed 
had he received an amount of evidence as large as the 
Cathedral of Antwerp." 

The doctor must have had several pockets in his 
clothes, and probably there was something in each one. 
At all events it is not reasonable to suppose that the 
case of lancets was all they contained. But instead of 
indicating any particular pocket, he simply asked "What 
is in my pocket?" and when the young lady replied, "A 
case of lancets," he received that as a precise answer to 



208 THE INVISIBLES. 

his question. Is it not very evident that when he 
asked the question he had the case of lancets in his 
mind ? 

Again, if the young lady could really see what was 
in his pockets, and could not read his mind, when asked 
such a question, she would either have inquired which 
pocket he meant, or have indicated herself the particular 
pocket, or have told what was in all. It is evident then 
that she could at least read the doctor's mind so far as to 
know which pocket he was thinking of, and if she could 
do that, is it not also very evident that she could 
perceive he was thinking of a case of lancets, also the 
number of lancets he thought the case contained, etc.? 

It will be noticed that the doctor did not have to 
examine the case to see if the answers were correct. 

He had the answers in his mind when he asked the 
questions. If he had thought of his pocket-book when 
he asked the first question the young lady would have 
named that, and would have described the contents so 
far, and so far only, as the doctor knew the same. 

I will now pass to the work of Mr. Owen. The nar- 
ratives in this work are classified under the following 
heads : — 

" Dreams," " Disturbances popularly termed haunt- 
ings," " Apparitions of the living," " Apparitions of 
the dead," " Retribution," and " Guardianship." 

First, then, in reference to dreams. In certain stages 
of sleep the mind is in a more receptive or impressible 
condition than when the individual is fully awake, and 
his mind or thinking faculties in active exercise. Hence 
inhabitants of the other world, who are unable at any 
other time to do so, are sometimes able to communicate 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 209 

impressions to those of our world when the latter are 
asleep, or partially so. 

Sometimes, when unable to convey ideas, or the im- 
pression of words being spoken, it is possible to produce 
an impressional apparition ; and the latter is occasionally 
done to convey the intelligence of the decease of a rela- 
tive or friend of a person receiving the impression ; it 
being of course as well known in the other world as in 
ours, that most individuals of the latter, when they see 
an apparition, conclude that the person supposed to be 
seen is an inhabitant of the other world. 

These impressional apparitions, conveying intelligence 
of deaths, I will here state, though the remark does not 
solely apply to the subject of dreams ; are occasionally 
produced in individuals who never before or afterward 
experienced anything of the kind. 

So frequently do these apparitions occur immediately 
upon the death of the individual whose appearance is 
seen, and before the person seeing the apparition had 
otherwise learned of the death, that it is believed by 
some that individuals or spirits, can appear to us imme- 
diately after their death, but not at any considerable 
time afterward. 

I have myself heard this opinion expressed ; and Mr. 
Owen states that a society was formed in the year 1851, 
by members of Cambridge University, England, "for 
the purpose of instituting, as their printed circular* ex- 
presses it, ' a serious and earnest inquiry into the nature 
of the phenomena which are vaguely called supernatu- 
ral.' " And in a note, Mr. Owen states that the son of 
a British peer, who was one of the leading members of 

* Which is published in an Appendix to Mr. Owen's work. 

18* 



210 THE INVISIBLES. 

the society, informed him, " that the researches of the 
society had resulted in a conviction, shared he believed, 
by all its members, that there is sufficient testimony for 
the appearance, about the time of death or after it, of 
the apparitions of deceased persons ; while in regard to 
other classes of apparitions the evidence, so far as ob- 
tained, was deemed too slight to prove their reality." 

Yet, frequent as these apparitions are, compared with 
the number of deaths they are very rare, and for several 
reasons, first, it is only occasionally that a friend in the 
other world, of the person dying, is able to produce the 
apparition to a friend in our world, second, the death of 
the individual is not always known at the time to his 
friends in the other world, and third, there is not usually 
any good reason for attempting to convey intelligence 
of the death in this way, as the fact would soon be 
learned through ordinary sources. 

It must be borne in mind, in reference to dreams and 
impressional apparitions, that the thoughts and images 
in the mind of one person, may under favorable circum- 
stances, be impressed upon the mind of another, where 
both individuals are inhabitants of our world; as in the 
case of the doctor and somnambulist, copied from Mr. 
Howitt's work. If it is doubted whether this is the 
correct explanation of that case, there can be no reason- 
able doubt as to the fact stated, and I believe there is 
none in the minds of those who have investigated the 
subject. Another fact very well demonstrated is, that 
this impression can be produced at a distance, that is, 
where the two individuals are not in contact. At how 
great a distance this impression can be produced, can 
only, in my opinion, be determined by cases like those 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 211 

narrated in the work of Mr. Owen ; for the most favor- 
able condition possible of the two minds rarely occurs, 
and only, as it may be termed, accidentally. It is there- 
fore not always easy to decide whether the dream or 
apparition was caused by the mind of a person in the 
other world, or of one in our own. The first narrative 
that I shall notice is of this ambiguous class. 

Signor Romano, being at Patu, in the kingdom of 
Naples, dreamed one night that the wife of the Cava- 
liere Libetta, his friend and legal adviser, and who at 
the time had in charge for him a lawsuit of importance, 
was dead. The Cavaliere Libetta was then in the city 
of Naples, from which Patu is two hundred and eighty 
miles distant. Signor Romano had not heard of the 
Signora Libetta being ill, but the dream was so vivid 
that it produced a great impression upon him, and in 
the morning he repeated it to his family. Several days 
afterward he received a letter from the Cavaliere Li- 
betta, informing him that he had lost his wife by death 
on a certain night, the date of which was the same as 
that of the dream. 

This fact was communicated to Mr. Oweu, in 1858,* 
by a son of Signor Romano, who stated that he heard 
his father relate the dream the morning after it occurred. 

If the mind of one person can produce an impression 
upon that of another at the distance named, which I 
think possible, then it is impossible to decide from the 
narrative whether the dream was caused by a being of 
the other world, or by the Cavaliere Libetta, who was 
probably by the bed-side of his dying wife, and may 
have been thinking at the time of his friend. If we 

* Mr. Owen was at the time American Minister to Naples. 



212 THE INVISIBLES. 

were informed as to the latter fact, it would assist in 
forming an opinion upon the point. 

The following narrative, in my opinion, admits of but 
one interpretation, namely, that the dream was caused 
by an inhabitant of the other world, probably by the 
dreamers mother. 

" Mrs. S related to me* that, residing in Rome 

in June, 1856, she dreamed on the 30th of that month, 
that her mother, who had been several years dead, ap- 
peared to her, gave her a lock of hair, and said, ' Be 
especially careful of this lock of hair, my child, for it 
is your father's ; and the angels will call him away from 
you to-morrow.' " 

Mrs. S learned that her father, who was in Eng- 
land, died the next morning at nine o'clock, and that, 
" two days before his death he had caused to be cut off 
a lock of his hair, and handed it to one of his daugh- 
ters, who was attending on him, telling her it was for 
her sister in Rome." 

It is, to say the least, very improbable that this dream, 
the fulfillment as to the death, and the fact that a lock 
of hair was cut off for Mrs. S , were accidental co- 
incidences, especially as it is stated that, although the 
father had been ill, the last advices Mrs. S had re- 
ceived of his health had been favorable. 

And it is difficult to perceive how the dream could 

have been caused by the father of Mrs. S , or any 

of her relatives in England, for the lock of hair was cut 
oif two days previous. It is true, her father or relatives 
might have the lock of hair in their mind when think- 
ing of Mrs. S , but they could hardly have thought 

* Mr. Owen. 



EEVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 213 

of her mother presenting it to her, neither would they 
be likely to have the idea definitely fixed in their mind 
that the father would die " to-morrow." 

As I know that beings of the other world can and do 
cause dreams, as well as influence the waking thoughts 
of many in our world, what appears to me the most 
reasonable solution of this dream is, that it was caused 

by the mother of Mrs. S , who had been watching 

over her dying husband, had witnessed the cutting on 
the lock of hair, and could read the mind either of her 
husband or the daughter with him well enough to per- 
ceive that it was intended for Mrs. S , and who per- 
ceived that the death would occur next day. 

It may be asked, if the dream was caused by Mrs. 

S 's mother, why was it not accurate ? Why did 

she dream that her mother presented her the lock of 
hair ? 

The mother could probably only produce certain im- 
pressions upon the mind of Mrs. S , which caused 

the dream. The points which the mother would be 
likely to wish to impress upon the daughter's mind are, 
her own presence and the approaching death of the fa- 
ther, and as the latter desired that Mrs. 8 should 

receive a lock of his hair, which he had caused to be cut 
off for that purpose, this &ct it may be presumed would 
be in the mother's mind, and would therefore be im- 
pressed upon that of the daughter. With the know- 
ledge we have of the nature of dreams when caused by 
impressions, however received, it appears to me that 
these impressions, namely, the mother's presence, the 
approaching death of the father, and an indefinite one 



214 THE INVISIBLES. 

relative to the lock of hair, being received by Mrs. 
S , the dream was a very natural one. 

For the explanation of the following dream, it seems 
to me not necessary to suppose that there was any for- 
eign influence, either of this world or the other. The 
account is taken from Abercrombie's "Intellectual 
Powers." 

" The gentleman was at the time connected with one 
of the principal banks in Glasgow, and was at his place 
at the teller's table where money is paid, when a person 
entered, demanding payment of a sum of six pounds. 

" There were several persons waiting, who were in 
turn entitled to be served before him; but he was ex- 
tremely impatient and rather noisy, and, being besides 
a remarkable stammerer, he became so annoying that 
another gentleman requested my friend to pay him his 
money and get rid of him. He did so accordingly, but 
with an expression of impatience at being obliged to 
attend to him before his turn ; and he thought no more 
of the transaction. At the end of the year, which was 
eight or nine months after, the books of the bank could 
not be made to balance, the deficiency being exactly six 
pounds. Several days and nights had been spent in eiir 
deavoring to* discover the error, but without success ; 
when at last my friend returned home much fatigued, 
and went to bed. He dreamed of being at his place in 
the bank, and the whole transaction with the stammerer 
as now detailed, passed before him, in all its particulars. 
He awoke under a full impression that the dream was 
to lead him to the discovery of what he was so anxiously 
in search of; and on investigation he soon discovered 
that the sum paid to this person, in the manner now 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 215 

mentioned, had been neglected to be inserted in the book 
of interests, and that it exactly accounted for the error 
in the balance." 

Mr. Owen copies the following comments of Aber- 
crombie uj)on the case. 

"The fact upon which the importance of the case 
rested was not his having paid the money, but having 
neglected to insert the payment. Now, of this there 
was no impression made upon his mind at tue time, and 
we can scarcely conceive upon what principle it could be 
recalled. The deficiency being six pounds, we may 
indeed suppose the gentleman endeavoring to recollect 
whether there could have been a payment of this sum 
made in any irregular manner, that might have led to 
an omission or an error; but in the transactions of an 
extensive bank, in a great commercial city, a payment 
of six pounds, at a distance of eight or nine months, 
could have made but a very faint impression. And, 
upon the whole, the case presents perhaps, one of the 
most remarkable mental phenomena connected with this 
curious subject." 

Mr. Owen evidently thinks the dream was a spiritual 
suggestion. He says, "The difficulty in the above case 
is, not that something was recalled which, in the waking 
state, had passed from the memory; for this, as in the 
example already cited from Brodie, is a phenomenon 
known to show itself occasionally in dreams; the true 
difficulty is that the fact of which the teller was in 
search, namely, the omission to enter a sum of six 
pounds, was not recalled by the dream at all. 

"The dream, indeed, did recall and present again to his 
memory, in all its details, a certain forgotten circum- 



216 THE INVISIBLES. 

stance, namely, that he had made a payment eight or 
nine months before, in a somewhat irregular manner, to 
a certain troublesome stammerer; and the impression 
was produced on his mind 'that the dream was to lead 
him to the discovery of what he was so anxiously in 
search of;' nothing more. It was only a hint given; a 
mere suggestion, as if some one had said, 'See if that 
affair of the stammerer be not in some way connected 
with the error that has so long escaped you.' And we 
are expressly told that it was only on investigation the 
teller discovered that the payment to the annoying cus- 
tomer was the one actually omitted. If this be not an 
example of a suggestion made from some foreign source, 
instead of being a mere instance of old associations 
revived, it has at least very much the appearance of it." 

Supposing Abercrombie's understanding of the case 
to be correct, namely, that the teller had made a pay- 
ment of six pounds which he had neglected to enter, and 
that he had been endeavoring to recollect the payments 
of that precise sum which he had made, I can see 
nothing wonderful or uncommon in the fact that he 
should dream of the payment to the noisy stammerer — 
which must have made a decided impression upon his 
mind at the time — nor, that on awaking after such a 
dream, he should think that that was the payment 
omitted to be entered. 

But any one familiar with the banking business will, I 
think, perceive that Abercrombie misunderstood the teller. 

Bank tellers balance their cash account every day. 
This is the universal rule in this country, and I presume 
they are equally particular in Glasgow. An error of the 
kind supposed would therefore have been discovered on 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 217 

the same day. In fact it is evident from the narrative 
that the difficulty was not that the teller's cash account 
would not balance, but that the books of the bank 
would not, and the error appears to have consisted in 
not posting, or entering the sum in the interest account. 

The dream therefore could not recall the omission to 
enter the sum at the time of payment, because there was 
no such omission; and instead of there being anything 
wonderful about this dream, it appears to me one of the 
most natural of which I ever heard. 

It is unnecessary to notice any further, dreams of 
either of the three classes embraced in the foregoing 
narratives. I will notice several which Mr. Owen 
seems to think indicate prevision ; and, that it may not 
be thought by those who have not seen the work of Mr. 
Owen — if I should have any such readers — that I select 
generally such narratives as favor the theories advanced 
by me, I will here state that I design taking the oppo- 
site course, namely, to confine myself mainly to reviewing 
those which appear to conflict with these theories; in 
fact I shall notice every narrative in the work which I 
think decidedly conflicts with either of the theories I 
have given in explanation of the phenomena, and which 
Mr. Owen considers well authenticated. As regards 
dreams, however, I consider it unnecessary to notice 
any of a class which are frequent, and the cause of 
which is evident, such as, for example, that a ship in 
which a friend has embarked, or is about to embark, is 
lost, or that a boat, in which the dreamer or his friends 
intend sailing, is upset. Such dreams, caused by natu- 
ral apprehension, occurring frequently, it is not strange 
that occasionally one is fulfilled. 

18 



218 THE INVISIBLES 

If I understand Mr. Owen, he does not think that 
such instances prove the faculty of prevision. 

The following narrative is taken from Macnish's 
" Philosophy of Sleep" and the dream occurred to Mac- 
nish himself. 

"I was then in Caithness, when I dreamed that a near 
relative of my own, residing three hundred miles off, 
had suddenly died; and immediately thereafter awoke 
in a state of inconceivable terror, similar to that pro- 
duced by a paroxysm of nightmare. The same day, 
happening to be writing home, I mentioned the circum- 
stance in a half-jesting, half-earnest way. To tell the 
truth, I was afraid to be serious, lest I should be laughed 
at for putting any faith in dreams. However in the 
interval between writing and receiving an answer I 
remained in a state of most unpleasant suspense. I felt 
a presentiment that something dreadful had happened 
or would happen; and, though I could not help blaming 
myself for a childish weakness in so feeling, I was 
unable to get rid of the painful idea which had taken 
such rooted possession of my mind. Three days after 
sending away the letter, what was my astonishment when 
I received one written the day subsequent to mine, and 
stating that the relative of whom I had dreamed had 
been struck with a fatal shock of palsy the day before, 
— that is, the very day on the morning of which I had 
beheld the appearance in my dream ! I may state that 
my relative was in perfect health before the fatal event 
took place. It came upon him like a thunderbolt, at a 
period when no one could have the slightest anticipation 
of danger." 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 219 

I infer from the following note by Mr. Owen, that 
Macnish considered the coincidence accidental. 

"Speaking of the hypothesis that dreams may at times 
give us an insight into futurity, Macnish says, 'This 
opinion is so singularly un philosophical that I would 
not have noticed it, were it not advocated by persons of 
good sense and education.'" 

In reply to which Mr. Owen says, "But after all it 
avails nothing to allege that an opinion is unphilosophi- 
cal if it should happen that facts attest its truth." 

The dream, it will be noticed, occurred several hours 
before the shock, and as the individual is represented as 
having been in perfect health up to the moment of the 
stroke, Mr. Owen thinks this an instance of prevision. 

But no one in perfect health is ever suddenly stricken 
down with palsy, or any other disease. A change must 
have been- going on in this person's nervous system for 
some time previous to what is called the fatal shock; and 
a change of this kind — affecting the nervous system — • 
could be perceived by those of the other world. If 
then this dream was caused by a being of the other world, 
and the coincidence of the dream and death was not 
accidental, there was no prevision, any more than there 
is when a physician of our world, from facts within his 
knowledge forms the opinion that a patient will not live 
beyond a certain period. 

"The Visit foretold." This narrative is taken from a 
work on Sleep by Mr. Macario. I will give the substance. 

Madame Macario and daughter went to the Bourbon 
baths. A cousin of Madame Macario, residing at Mou- 
lins — which it appears was the point at which they left 



220 THE INVISIBLES. 

the rail-road, and took the diligence for the baths — 
dreamed on the night before they started, that he saw 
them take the rail-road cars for the baths, and in the 
morning told his wife to prepare to receive them, as they 
would pay them a visit. 

As it was raining when Madame Macario and daugh- 
ter arrived at Moulins, they did not visit the cousin, 
who lived in a distant quarter of the town, but stopped 
at the house of a friend near the rail-road station. 

The dream and impression of the cousin were accurate 
as to what Madame Macario intended, but not as to what 
actually occurred. Madame Macario in the night, either 
asleep or awake, probably thought of the journey, and 
of a visit to her cousin, and this produced an impression 
on the mind of the latter, who, it is stated, "habitually 
dreams of anything extraordinary that is to happen to 
him," in other words, he was very impressible. 

If the cousin was really gifted with the "prophetic 
instinct," he should have known that the party would 
not visit him; and if we suppose — which seems to me 
unnecessary — that the dream was caused by an inhabitant 
of the other world, who might have got Madame Maca- 
rio's intention from her mind, even this would be no 
instance of prevision, any more than if one of our world, 
having learned of the intended visit, had informed him. 

"The Indian mutiny" In this dream, Mr. Owen says, 
"A highly improbable event was foreshadowed with 
distinctness, a year before it occurred. I had the narra- 
tive in writing from a lady, whose name, if it were 
proper for me to give it, would be to the public an all- 
sufficient voucher for the truth of the story." 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 221 

"Mrs. Torrens, the widow of General Torrens, now 
residing at Southsea, near Portsmouth, about a year pre- 
vious to the Indian mutiny, dreamed that she saw her 
daughter, Mrs. Hayes, and that daughter's husband, 
Captain Hayes, attacked by sepoys; and a frightful 
murderous struggle ensued, in which Captain Hayes was 
killed." 

Captain Hayes and his wife were at Lucknow during 
the siege of that place, where the former was captured 
by the sepoys and killed. It does not appear that his 
wife was attacked or molested in any way, except that 
she shared in the privations of the siege. 

This is called a clear foreshadowing of the great 
Indian mutiny. If the narrative was not headed, "The 
Indian mutiny," I venture to say most readers would 
see no intimation of that event in the dream. The 
lady's dream was confined to her daughter and son-in- 
law, and is of the same class as where one dreams that a 
vessel in which a friend has sailed, is lost; both dreams 
being caused by natural apprehension. I have no doubt 
that such dreams occur frequently to persons in England 
who have relatives in India. 

But I think most persons will agree with me in the 
opinion, that if one or a dozen individuals in England, 
had, before the event, dreamed of a mutiny in India, 
the fact would be no proof of prophetic instinct, or pre- 
vision; because more or less apprehension upon the 
subject was felt; the matter had been discussed, and I 
venture to say the occurrence predicted. 

"The Negro Servant." "A lady dreamed that an aged 
female relative had been murdered by a black servant; 
19* 



222 THE INVISIBLES. 

and the dream occurred more than once. She was then 
so much impressed by it that she went to the house of the 
lady to whom it related, and prevailed upon a gentleman 
to watch in an adjoining room during the following night. 
About three o'clock in the morning, the gentleman hear- 
ing footsteps on the stairs, left his place of concealment, 
and met the servant carrying up a quantity of coals. 
Being questioned as to where he was going, he replied, 
in a confused and hurried manner, that he was going to 
mend his mistress's fire; which at three o'clock in the 
morning, in the middle of summer, was evidently im- 
possible; and on further investigation, a strong knife 
was found concealed beneath the coals." 

This narrative is taken from Abercrombie's Intellec- 
tual Powers, and its accuracy is vouched for by him. 
Mr. Owen, while in Edinburgh in 1858, obtained an 
additional voucher, with the names of the parties, — 
which he gives — and the following additional facts, 
namely, that the dreamer did not know until she went 
to her relative's house after the dream, that the latter 
had a black servant, he having been recently engaged; 
and that the servant was afterward hung for murder, 
and confessed before his execution that he had intended 
to assassinate the lady. 

I can account for this dream upon no other hypothesis 
than that it was caused by an inhabitant of the other 
world. The difference between Mr. Owen and myself 
upon this point is, that he evidently believes spirits 
possess the power of seeing into futurity, in other 
words, have what is called the faculty of prevision. 

I am well satisfied that they have not the power of 
seeing into futurity, in any different sense from our- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 223 

selves; and I think this narrative does not at all support 
Mr. Owen's theory. 

The servant had probably thought of murdering his 
mistress for some time previous to the night when he 
was discovered going to her room; and Mr. Owen 
believes that spirits can read our thoughts. If then a 
friend of the lady from the other world, was with her, 
he (or she) could discover that this servant was a very 
bad character, and by watching closely his thoughts, 
could discover his intention to commit the murder. 
This is not prevision. 

The dreamer was either a daughter, or step-daughter, 
(I infer the latter), of the aged lady, and generally 
resided with her, but at that time was absent from home. 

She was probably the most impressible of any of the 
family. 

Such occurrences are rare for several reasons; our 
friends of the other world are not generally with us, 
there is not often the same opportunity, even if they 
were with us, for discovering such an intention, and if 
discovered, only certain individuals can receive such an 
impression even when asleep. 

Mr. Owen says, " It is true that, with that inexpli- 
cable dimness of vision which seems so often to charac- 
terize similar phenomena, the coming event is indicated 
only, not distinctly foretold. The daughter's dream 
was that her mother had been murdered; and this had 
not taken place." 

I see nothing inexplicable in the matter. The promi- 
nent idea in the mind of the one causing the dream 
would be the murder of the lady by the negro servant. 

This impression would naturally cause such a dream 



224 THE INVISIBLES. 

as the young lady had. But suppose a person should 
be told that a certain individual intended to kill a cer- 
tain other individual, and on going to bed should dream 
of the matter; nine times out of ten, the dream would 
be that the murder was committed. 

So far as I have observed or read upon the subject, 
we but rarely dream that an event is to take place. 

The following anecdote is the only one in the chapter 
on dreams, which appears to me to indicate prevision. 
It is taken from Dr. Binns' " Anatomy of Sleep," the 
communication being addressed to the above author. 

"Bell and Stephenson. In the year 1768, my father, 
Matthew Talbot, of Castle Talbot, County Wexford, 
was much surprised at the recurrence of a dream three 
several times during the same night, which caused him 
to repeat the whole circumstance to his lady the next 
morning. He dreamed that he had arisen as usual, and 
descended to his library, the morning being hazy. He 
then seated himself at his secretaire to write, when, hap- 
pening to look up a long avenue of trees opposite the 
window, he perceived a man in a blue jacket, mounted 
on a white horse, coming toward the house. My father 
arose and opened the window; the man advancing, pre- 
sented him with a roll of papers, and told him they were 
invoices of a vessel that had been wrecked and had 
drifted in during the night on his son-in-law's (Lord 
Mount Morriss') estate, hard by, and signed ' Bell and 
Stephenson.' 

" My father's attention was called to the dream only 
from its frequent recurrence ; but when he found him- 
self seated at his desk on the misty morning, and be- 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 225 

held the identical person whom he had seen in his 
dream in the blue coat, riding on a gray horse, he felt 
surprised, and opening the window waited the man's 
approach. He immediately rode up, and drawing from 
his pocket a packet of papers, gave them to my father, 
stating that they were invoices belonging to an American 
vessel which had been wrecked and drifted upon his 
lordship's estate; that there was no person on board to 
lay claim to the wreck ; but that the invoices were 
signed ' Stephenson and Bell.'' 

" I assure you, my dear sir, that the above actually 
occurred, and is most faithfully given ; but it is not 
more extraordinary than other examples of the pro- 
phetic powers of the mind or soul during sleep, which I 
have frequently heard related. 

" Yours, most faithfully, 

" William Talbot." 

"Alton Towers, October 23, 1842." 

I do not doubt that Mr. Talbot has stated what he 
believed to be strictly correct ; nor do I doubt his state- 
ment that he has frequently heard as extraordinary ex- 
amples of prophetic power related; but his opinion as 
to the authenticity of the accounts is of very little 
weight, since he does not seem to understand the com- 
mon rules for receiving testimony, and would therefore 
be about as likely to believe one story as another. 

The first questions, when a person is called on to tes- 
tify relative to any occurrence, are, " What do you 
know?" and " Hoiv do you know?" Mr. Talbot has 
stated, as he believed, what he knew, but not how he 
knew. 

The occurrence took place seventy-four years previous 



226 THE INVISIBLES. 

to the date of his communication ; whether before or 
after his birth is not stated, and is not material, as in. 
the latter case (unless a very old man when he gave the 
narrative), he must have been a child at the time. 

If, as seems probable, Mr. Talbot merely stated his 
recollections of what he had heard when a boy, this cer- 
tainly cannot be considered sufficient authority for so 
extraordinary a narrative, unsupported by any other in 
the volume,* or by any well authenticated narrative that 
I have seen. 

It will be noticed the narrative states that in the 
dream the invoices were signed " Bell and Stephenson," 
while the man who brought them said they were signed 
"Stephenson and Bell." This Mr. Owen considers an- 
other instance of inaccuracy in the dream. But I think 
Mr. Talbot was a careless writer, and that the inaccuracy 
was with him. In the dream it appears that the vessel 
had drifted upon the estate of Matthew Talbot's son-in- 
law ; but the man who brought the invoices stated, as 
I understand the sentence, that it had drifted upon the 
estate of the person to whom he handed the package. 
If this is not the meaning, then no particular estate is 
designated, for Lord Mount Morris is not named in this 
part of the narrative. 

I will next notice a class of dreams which Mr. Owen 
thinks examples of "farsight or natural clairvoyance." 

The following narrative is taken from Abercrombie's 

* Since writing the above, I find in a subsequent chapter, an account 
of a dream occurring to a Mrs. Higgins, a relative of the Fox family, 
indicating this " power." Mr. Owen does not state how he obtained 
the narrative, and as he has not placed it in the chapter on dreams, I 
don't know whether he considers it authentic or not. To me it appears 
a very silly story. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 227 

" Intellectual Powers." "A lady in Edinburgh had sent 
her watch to be repaired. A long time elapsed without 
her being able to recover it; and after many excuses, she 
began to suspect that something was wrong. She now 
dreamed that the watch-maker's boy, by whom the watch 
was sent, had dropped it in the street, and had injured 
it in such a manner that it could not be repaired. She 
went to the master, and, without any allusion to her 
dream, put the question to him directly, when he con- 
fessed that it was true." 

Mr. Owen remarks, " In this case, nothing can be 
more ridiculous than to imagine that there was miracu- 
lous intervention for the purpose of informing a lady 
why her watch was detained at the maker's; yet how 
extreme the improbability, also, that among the ten 
thousand possible causes of that detention, chance should 
indicate to her, in dream, the very one, though apparently 
among the most far-fetched and unlikely, that was found 
exactly to coincide with the fact as it occurred ! 

"The attempt is futile to explain away even such a 
simple narrative as the foregoing, unless we impeach the 
good faith of the narrator; imagining, let us suppose 
that he has willfully concealed some essential attendant 
circumstance, as, for instance, that the lady whose watch 
was injured had reason, from information obtained, to 
surmise that the boy might have dropped it. But, when 
Abercrombie vouches for the narrative as authentic, his 
voucher excludes of course, suppositions which would 
deprive the anecdote of all value whatever in the con- 
nection in which he publishes it." 

Mr. Owen seems to admit that if the lady had reason 
to surmise that the boy might have dropped the watch, 



228 THE INVISIBLES. 

then the dream may have occurred from natural causes, 
and does not substantiate the faculty of farsight or clair- 
voyance. 

But it is evident that if the lady surmised the same 
without any reason, the dream would be equally probable. 

The question then is, as to the probability of the lady 
having felt any apprehension that the boy had dropped 
the watch. 

In the first place, under the circumstances as stated, is 
this accident the most "far-fetched and unlikely" cause 
of the detention, among "ten thousand possible" ones? 
I can conceive of but three probable reasons for the 
detention, — First, that the watch-maker was irresponsible 
and dishonest, and had sold — or designed selling the 
watch — Second, that he was so crowded with business 
that he neglected it — and Third, that the watch had been 
so injured — either by himself or some one in his employ, 
that it could not speedily be repaired. Possibly on 
reflection I might think of one or two other reasons, but 
these are all that occur to me at this moment as being at 
all probable, and I feel confident they are the causes that 
would be most readily surmised by any one. 

In the present case, however, the inquiry as to what 
causes would probably occur to the lady, is much nar- 
rowed from the 'fact that it is stated, "She began to 
suspect that something was wrong." 

What would she be likely to suspect this "something" 
was? It appears to me the suspicion would be one of 
the three named, namely, either that the watch-maker 
was dishonest — that the watch had been lost — or that it 
had been injured. We may I think assume that in this 
case the firpt-named suspicion was not likely to occur. 



EEVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 229 

Now, that the boy would drop the watch, was, I 
admit, when he took it, an improbable event ; that he 
had dropped it, was at the time the lady's suspicions were 
excited, much less improbable. But this is not the 
question for consideration ; the question is as to the 
probability of the lady being apprehensive that he had 
dropped it. 

* I venture to say, that nine out of ten ladies sending 
their watches by a boy, would feel a little — in some cases 
perhaps almost unconscious — apprehension that he might 
drop it. I am frequently conscious of this feeling in 
myself, when even handing a watch, or any delicate 
instrument to a gentleman for examination. 

It appears to me therefore, that there is nothing im- 
probable in the supposition that this dream occurred 
from natural apprehension. 

If the reader thinks this attempt at explanation is 
futile, he should consider the possibility of the lady 
seeing, by "farsight or natural clairvoyance," the boy 
drop the watch, not at the time of the occurrence but a 
long time afterward. 

I can imagine that there might be such a faculty as 
clairvoyance, but I cannot even imagine a faculty by 
which we could see an occurrence not taking place at 
the time. 

I have said nothing as to the possibility of the lady's 
mind having been influenced by that of the boy or of 
the watch-maker, because I think the dream explainable 
otherwise; but I should consider this supposition far 
more probable than the theory of Mr. Owen. 

I shall not review any more narratives of this class, 
which I think can be explained upon other theories than 

20 



230 THE INVISIBLES. 

that of clairvoyance, but will next notice those which I 
think cannot. There are two such in the chapter, both 
given by sailors ; very doubtful authority in such mat- 
ters. I will give the substance of the one which Mr. 
Owen received direct. It is entitled, " The two field- 
mice." 

"On the night of the 17th of February, 1836, Cap- 
tain Clarke, then on board the schooner referred to,* 
had a dream of so vivid a character that it produced a 
great impression upon him. He dreamed that, being at 
Lyme-Regis, he saw pass before him the funeral of his 
grandmother. He took note of the chief persons who 
composed the procession, observed who were the pall- 
bearers, who were the mourners, and in what order they 
walked, and distinguished who was the officiating pas- 
tor. He joined the procession as it approached the 
church-yard gate, and proceeded with it to the grave. 
He thought (in his dream) that the weather was stormy, 
and the ground wet, as after a heavy rain ; and he no- 
ticed that the wind being high, blew the pall partly off^ 
the coffin. The grave-yard which they entered, the old 
Protestant one, in the center of the town, was the same 
in which, as Captain Clarke knew, their family burying- 
place was. He perfectly remembered its situation ; but, 
to his surprise, the funeral procession did not proceed 
thither, but to another part of the church-yard, at some 
distance. There (still in his dream) he saw the open 
grave, partially filled with water, as from the rain ; and 
looking into it, he particularly noticed floating in the 

* A schooner frozen up in the Bay of Fundy. It is stated that Cap- 
tain Clarke had not heard of his grandmother's illness, who resided at 
Lyme-Regis, England. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 231 

water two drowned field-mice. Afterward, as he 
thought, he conversed with his mother; and she told 
him that the morning had been so tempestuous that the 
funeral, originally appointed for ten o'clock, had been 
deferred till four. He remarked, in reply, that it was a 
fortunate circumstance; for, as he had just arrived in 
time to join the procession, had the funeral taken place 
in the forenoon he could not have attended it at all. 

" This dream made so deep an impression on Captain 
Clarke, that in the morning he noted the date of it. 

" Some time afterward there came the news of his 
grandmother's death, with the additional particulars that 
she was buried on the same day on which he, being in 
North America, had dreamed of her funeral. 

" When, four years afterwards, Captain Clarke vis- 
ited Lyme-Hegis, he found that every particular of his 
dream minutely corresponded with the reality. The 
pastor, the pall-bearers, the mourners, were the same 
persons he had seen. Yet this, we may suppose, he 
might naturally have anticipated. But the funeral had 
been appointed for ten o'clock in the morning, and in 
consequence of the tempestuous weather and the heavy 
rain that was falling, it had been delayed until four in 
the afternoon. His mother, who attended the funeral, 
distinctly recollected that the high wind blew the pall 
partially off the coffin. In consequence of a wish ex- 
pressed by the old lady shortly before her death, she was 
buried, not in the burying-place of the family, but at 
another spot, selected by herself; and to this spot Cap- 
tain Clarke, without any indication from the family or 
otherwise, proceeded at once, as directly as if he had 
been present at the burial. Finally, on comparing notes 



232 THE INVISIBLES. 

with the old sexton, it appeared that the heavy rain of 
the morning had partially filled the grave, and that 
there were actually found in it two field-mice, drowned. 

" This last incident, even if there were no other, 
might suffice to preclude all idea of accidental coin- 
cidence." 

This narrative was communicated to Mr. Owen by 
Captain Clarke, in July, 1859. 

I at once admit my inability to explain the dream. 
It could not have occurred from natural causes, neither 
could it have been produced by the mind of any other 
person either of our world or the other, for no one per- 
son would have noticed so many particulars, and if they 
had, it is doubtful if so minutely accurate a dream, em- 
bracing so many particulars could be produced in this way. 

I can only say then, that I do not believe the narra- 
tive, and as I shall have occasion hereafter to notice a 
still more wonderful narrative by this Captain Clarke, 
I think most readers will become convinced that he is 
entirely unworthy of credit. 

The other narrative indicating clairvoyance, which as 
stated, I am unable to explain, is entitled " The murder 
near Wadebridge." It is taken from a work entitled, 
" Early Years and Late Reflections" written by a Dr. 
Carlyon. The dream, as stated, occurred to a Captain 
Norway, on board his vessel, and was about as minutely 
accurate as that of Captain Clarke. 

Mr. Owen states that the account " is an extract taken 
verbatim from the ship's log." There is nothing in the 
narrative as he gives it, showing this fact, but if this 
assertion is made in the work of Dr. Carlyon, unless he 
saw the log himself, the statement is sufficient to dis- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 233 

credit the narrative, for it cannot be the custom to enter 
dreams, especially when they have no reference to the 
ship or voyage, in the ship's log. 

Mr. Owen's belief seems to be about the same as that 
of spiritualists generally in reference to the ability of 
the spiritual body, — or as he describes it in one place, 
"the counterpart of a living person" — to "show itself 
at a greater or less distance from where that person 
actually is." 

There are two or three narratives in the chapter on 
dreams, which he appears to think confirms this theory. 

The following is taken from Abercrombie's Intellec- 
tual Poivers. The dream occurred to Joseph Wilkins, 
at the time usher of a school in Devonshire, England, 
afterward dissenting clergyman at Weymouth; and the 
narrative was written by himself. 

The Mother and Son. "One night, soon after I was 
in bed, I fell asleep, and dreamed I was going to Lon- 
don. I thought it would not be much out of my way 
to go through Gloucestershire and call upon my friends 
there. Accordingly I set out, but remembered nothing 
that happened by the way till I came to my father's 
house; when I went to the front door and tried to open 
it, but found it fast. Then I went to the back door, 
which I opened and went in; but finding all the family 
were in bed, I crossed the rooms only, went up-stairs, 
and entered the chamber where my father and mother 
were in bed. As I went by the side of the bed on 
which my father lay, I found him asleep, or thought he 
was so; then I went to the other side, and having just 
turned the foot of the bed, I found my mother awake, 

20* 



234 THE INVISIBLES. 

to whom I said these words; — 'Mother, I am going 
a long journey, and am come to bid you good-bye.' 
Upon which she answered, in a fright, 'Oh, dear son, 
thou art dead.'' With this I awoke, and took no notice 
of it more than a common dream, except that it appeared 
to me very perfect. In a few days after, as soon as a 
letter could reach me, I received one by post from my 
father; upon the receipt of which I was a little sur- 
prised, and concluded something extraordinary must 
have happened, as it was but a short time before I had 
a letter from my friends, and all were well. Upon 
opening it I was more surprised still; for my father 
addressed me as though I was dead, desiring me, if 
alive, or whoever's hands the letter might fall into, to 
write immediately; but if the letter should find me 
living they concluded I should not live long, and gave 
this as the reason of their fears: — That on a certain 
night, naming it, after they were in bed, my father 
asleep and my mother awake, she heard somebody try 
to open the front door; but finding it fast, he went to 
the back door, which he opened, came in, and came 
directly through the rooms up stairs, and she perfectly 
knew it to be my step; but I came to her bed-side and 
spoke to her these words: — 'Mother, I am going a long 
journey, and have come to bid you good-bye.' Upon 
which she answered me, in a fright, 'Oh, dear son, thou 
art dead !' — which were the circumstances and words of 
my dream. But she heard nothing more, and saw 
nothing more; neither did I in my dream. Upon this 
she awoke and told my father what had passed; but 
he endeavored to appease her, persuading her it was 
only a dream. She insisted it was no dream, for that 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 285 

she was as perfectly awake as ever she was, and had not 
the least inclination to sleep since she was in bed. 
From these circumstances I am apt to think it was at 
the very same instant when my dream happened, though 
the distance between us was about one hundred miles; 
but of this I cannot speak positively. This occurred 
while I was at the academy at Ottery, Devon, in the 
year 1754; and at this moment every circumstance is 
fresh upon my mind. I have since had frequent oppor- 
tunities of talking over the affair with my mother, and 
the whole was as fresh upon her mind as it was upon 
mine. I have often thought that her sensations, as to 
this matter, were stronger than mine. What may 
appear strange is, that I cannot remember anything 
remarkable happening hereupon. This is only a plain, 
simple narrative of a matter of fact." 

Whether the mother was asleep or awake, is not 
material; she was lying in bed, her mind in a receptive 
condition, and my belief is that the mind of the son 
impressed its thoughts upon the mind of the mother. 

It is hardly necessary to say that Abercrombie was 
not a spiritualist; but he does not give any distinct 
theory as to these, or other dreams, the accounts of 
which are taken from his work. It appears however 
that Mr. Owen has seen, in a work entitled, "Philosophy 
of Mysterious Agents" Human and Mundane, by E. C. 
Rogers — which I have not seen — a theory relative to 
this very narrative, similar to that I have given. Mr. 
Owen notices his theory as follows. 

"The ingenious author of the 'Philosophy of Mysteri- 
ous Agents,' who eschews everything like spiritualism, in 
dealing with the Wilkins narrative, of which he admits 



236 THE INVISIBLES. 

the authenticity, says, 'It certainly shows a strange and 
hitherto unknown physical agent in or by which the 
brain may act even at a great distance, and produce 
physical results perfectly representing the cerebral action 
when the mind's controlling power is suspended.' 

"If this, as may happen, should seem to the reader 
somewhat obscure, let him, to aid his conceptions, take 
another paragraph. After copying the story itself, Mr. 
Rogers subjoins, 'This is easily accounted for by the 
method we are considering this class of phenomena; and 
we can see no other in which there are not insuperable 
difficulties. In this case we have again the condition 
required for the play of mundane powers in reference to 
the brain; and that in which the brain, as a point, being 
irritated, may act, and by the mundane agency represent 
its action (as in this case) fifty miles or more distant.' 

"It does not strike me that by this method of Mr. 
Rogers' the strange phenomenon we have been consider- 
ing is, as he thinks, easily accounted for. How does he 
account for it? The doctrine of chance, he sees, is quite 
untenable. The doctrine of Spiritualism he repudiates. 
To avoid both he suggests that the brain of the son, in 
Devonshire, being in activity during the suspended 
volition incident to sleep, represented its action on the 
brain of the mother, a hundred miles off, in Gloucester- 
shire; and that this represented action was due to a 
mundane agency strange and unknown. 

"To say that the two minds were, in some mode or 
other, placed in relation, is only an admission that the 
coincidence of sensations and ideas in both was not for- 
tuitous. If as we may freely further admit, the agency 
be, as Mr. Rogers alleges, strange and unknown, why 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 237 

assume it to be physical? And by such assumption do 
we account for the phenomenon, — not to say easily, but 
at all ? Have we done more than employ vague words, 
— and words, vague as they are, which we do not seem 
justified in employing? What do we know about a 
brain, irritated, acting physically at a hundred miles 
distance? What do we mean by such a brain represent- 
ing its action, at that distance on another? What sort 
of mundane agency can we imagine as the instrument 
of such action? And if we are to esteem a mere physi- 
cal agent capable of thus connecting, without regard to 
distance, mind with mind, what need of any hypothetical 
soul or spirit to account for the entire wondrous range 
of mental phenomena? 

" Here again it behooves us to ask whither, in an 
attempt to escape the hypothesis of spiritual agency, our 
steps are invited ? To the confines, it would seem, of 
materialism." 

I see no force in the last paragraph, or in the sugges- 
tion that Mr. Rogers' theory does away with the necessity 
for a " hypothetical soul or spirit," unless Mr. Owen 
means by the expression, a spirit such as he believes in. 

At the same time, it does not appear to me that Mr. 
Rogers has made the subject any clearer by his attempt 
at explanation, and until we have a clear conception of 
the action of our own mind upon our own brain, or of 
the brain upon the mind, it seems to me idle to attempt 
to explain the action of either upon the mind or brain 
of another person. At all events, I do not consider 
myself competent for such an undertaking, and shall 
merely notice the probabilities or consistencies of the 
two theories. 



288 THE INVISIBLES. 

The phenomenon does not show "a strange and hith- 
erto unknown physical agent/' as Mr. Rogers asserts, 
for it is a fact well known that the mind of one person 
can, under certain conditions not fully understood, pro- 
duce an impression upon the mind of another, and the 
phenomenon is the same, and governed by the same laws, 
when the effect is produced at a distance of one hundred 
miles, as where the distance is only one inch. The only 
difference is, that in the former case the conditions must 
be more favorable than is necessary in the latter. 

Now look at the absurdity and inconsistency of the 
spiritual hypothesis as applied to this case. 

The spiritual body of the son, according to this the- 
ory, could leave the outer or "natural" body, and the 
room and house in which it lay, without difficulty, and 
could travel a hundred miles in a few minutes, or at 
farthest in a very brief space of time; but when it came 
to the residence of the parents, it could not enter with- 
out opening the door, and finding the front door fastened, 
was obliged to go to the back door. On entering, it 
walked precisely as the "natural body" would have done, 
(it could scarcely have traveled the hundred miles in 
that way), and the tread was so firm that the mother, 
up-stairs, heard and recognized it; and finally, it entered 
her room and spoke to her in an audible voice. It 
appears to have got out of the house however without 
opening any door, and without its footsteps being heard. 

Now, unless the mother did hear the "spirit," try 
first to open the front door, then open the back door 
and walk through the rooms, if all this was an illusion 
then the whole was an illusion. 

Again, why should such a being as this — one that 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 239 

opens doors, walks and speaks like an ordinary inhabi- 
tant of our world — leave so suddenly when the mother 
spoke ? Why not converse further with her, at least so 
far as to assure her that he was not dead ? 

The reply of Mr. Owen would be, I presume, that 
the spiritual body can only leave the natural body when 
the latter is asleep or in a trance ; (I am not sure that 
this is the belief of all spiritualists, but it seems to be 
that of Mr. Owen), and that the waking of the natural 
body of the son recalled the spiritual body. 

Then, even according to this theory, there was some 
kind of an influence extending from the natural body 
of the son, one hundred miles, to the residence of the 
parents. It strikes me that it is just as difficult to un- 
derstand this, as to understand how the mind of the 
mother could be impressed at that distance. 

It may be thought by some that the fact of the 
mother being, according to her statement, awake, has 
some weight in favor of the spiritual hypothesis. 

I will give the substance of a similar narrative, where 
both parties, several hundred* miles apart, state that they 
were asleep, and dreamed of the occurrences. 

It was communicated to Mr. Owen, he says, "in 
March, 1859, by Miss A. M. H , the talented daugh- 
ter of a gentleman well known in the literary circles of 
Great Britain." I reverse the order in which Mr. 
Owen gives the narrative, because I think the impres- 
sion was produced on the mind of the lady by that of 
the gentleman. 

" One dream the counterpart of another." Mr. S , 

a friend of Miss A. M. H , dreamed as follows : — 

* The precise distance is not stated. 



240 THE INVISIBLES. 

" I seemed to myself on the point of death, and was 
taking final leave of my brother. ' Is there anything,' 
he said, ' I can do for you before you die ?' ' Yes,' I 
replied, in my dream ; ' two things. Send for my friend 
A. M. H , I must see her before I depart.' ' Im- 
possible !' said my brother ; ' it would be an unheard of 
thing ; she would never come.' ' She would,' I insisted, 
in my dream, and added, ' I would also hear my favor- 
ite sonata by Beethoven, ere I die.' ' But these are 
trifles/ exclaimed my brother, almost sternly. ' Have 
you no desires more earnest at so solemn an hour?' 
' No, to see my friend A. M. and to hear that sonata, 
that is all I wish.' And, even as I spoke, in my dream 
I saw you* enter. You walked up to the bed with a 
cheerful air; and, while the music I had longed for 
filled the room, you spoke to me encouragingly, saying 
I should not die.' " 

On the same night, as we are led to infer, though this 
is not distinctly stated, the following dream occurred to 
Miss A. M. H , as related by her. 

" One night, when there was no special cause for my 
mind reverting to our friend or to his state of health, f 
I dreamed that I had to go to the town where he re- 
sided. In my dream I seemed to arrive at a particular 
house,J ^ n ^° which I entered, and went straight up-stairs 
into a darkened chamber. There, on his bed, I saw 

S , lying as if about to die. I walked up to him ; 

and, not mournfully, but as if filled with hopeful assur- 
ance, I took his hand, and said, ' No, you are not go- 
ing to die. Be comforted ; you will live.' Even as I 

* He was giving the account to Miss A. M. H . 



I Which was delicate. J The lady did not know his residence. 



REVIEW OF OTHER- NARRATIVES. 241 

spoke, I seemed to hear an exquisite strain of music 
sounding through the room." 

It is, I think, very evident that in this case, if the 

spiritual body of Miss H visited Mr. S , the 

desire of the latter for the visit was first impressed upon 
her mind, and this was the cause of the visit. But I am 
unable to perceive why, if his mind could impress hers 
to that extent, a dream may not have occurred to her 
from the same influence. 

As Mr. Owen believes that individuals can see. and 
converse with spirits in their sleep, he of course would 
have no difficulty on that point. But are we to assume 

that the spiritual body of Mr. S 's brother was also 

present? If that was an illusion, though not perhaps 
positive, it is at least partial evidence, that the whole 
was an illusion. 

Then as to the music — what produced that? Mr. 

S had wished that Miss H would come, and 

that he might thus hear his favorite sonata ; but, with 
the incoherence common in dreams, although he heard 
the music when she came, it was not executed by her. 

Miss H 's dream was on this point the same ; she 

did not dream that she performed, but simply that she 
heard the music. 

If he had dreamt that she executed the music, she 
would probably have dreamt the same. 

I presume that examples of these synchronous dreams 
are much more numerous than is generally supposed. 
People rarely tell their dreams, and even when one is 
mentioned, it is far from a certainty that the individual 
who had the corresponding dream will hear of the other. 

In the case of Mr. S and Miss H , so vivid 

21 



242 THE INVISIBLES. 

were the impressions on the mind of the latter, that the 
next day she related the dream to her mother, and wrote 

to Mr. S , inquiring after his health; but she said 

nothing in the letter about her dream, and it was three 
years after the occurrence before either party heard of 
the other's dream. 

The next chapter of Mr. Owen's work is on "Disturb- 
ances -popularly termed liamxtmgsP 

If a portion of the inhabitants of the other world are 
such as I have described, we can readily imagine that 
some of these would haunt the places where they 
formerly lived, or where some event in Avhich they were 
greatly interested had transpired. 

It is not true, however, that there are now, or ever 
were, houses in which disturbances of the kind alluded 
to could be made, without the presence of what are now 
called mediums, — that is, without the presence of one of 
our world, by means of whose electricity the material 
of the other world can be so changed that the inhab- 
itants of the latter can use it to create the disturbances. 

The following narrative conveys more nearly than 
any other in the chapter the popular idea of a haunted 
house, as the building appears to have been uninhabited 
previous to the visit of the parties named in the narra- 
tive. 

"The Castle of SlawensiJc." In the month of November, 
1806, Councilor Hahn, attached to the court of the then 
reigning Prince of Hohenlohe, Neuenstein-Ingelfingen, 
received orders from the prince to proceed to the above 
castle, situated in Upper Silesia, and there await his 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 243 

ordei's. Halm was accompanied by Cornet Charles 
Kern. — They both occupied the same room in the castle, 
which was a corner room on the first floor, having no 
opening without except the windows. The only resi- 
dents of the castle at the time were Hahn, Kern, Halm's 
servant, and two of the prince's coachmen. 

"On the third evening after their arrival in the 
castle, the two friends were sitting reading at a table in 
the middle of the room. About nine o'clock their 
occupation was interrupted by the frequent falling of 
small bits of lime over the room. They examined the 
ceiling, but could perceive no signs of their having 
fallen thence. As they were conversing of this, still 
larger pieces of lime fell around them. This lime was 
cold to the touch, as if detached from an outside wall. 

"They finally set it down to the account of the old 
walls of the castle, and went to bed and to sleep. The 
next morning they were astonished at the quantity of 
lime that covered the floor, the more so as they could 
not perceive on walls or ceiling the slightest appearance 
of injury. By evening, however, the incident was for- 
gotten, until not only the same phenomenon recurred, 
but bits of lime were thrown about the room, several of 
which struck Halm. At the same time loud knockings, 
like the report of distant artillery, were heard, some- 
times as if on the floor, sometimes as if on the ceiling. 
Again the friends went to bed; but the loudness of the 
knoeks prevented their sleeping. Kern accused Halm 
of causing the knockings by striking on the boards that 
formed the under portion of his bedstead, and was not 
convinced of the contrary till he had taken the light 
and examined for himself. Then Hahn conceived a 



244 THE INVISIBLES. 

similar suspicion of Kern. The dispute was settled by 
both rising and standing close together, during which 
time the knockings continued as before. Next evening, 
besides the throwing of lime and the knockings, they 
heard another sound, resembling the distant beating of 
a drum. 

" Thereupon they requested of a lady who had charge 
of the castle, Madame Knittel, the keys of the rooms 
above and below them; which she immediately sent 
them by her son. Hahn remained in the chamber 
below, while Kern and young Knittel went to examine 
the apartments in question. Above they found an 
empty room, below a kitchen. They knocked; but the 
sounds were entirely different from those that they had 
heard, and which Hahn at that very time continued to 
hear, in the room below. When they returned from 
their search, Hahn said, jestingly, ' The place is haunted.' 
They again went to bed, leaving the candles burning; 
but things became still more serious, for they distinctly 
heard a sound as if some one with loose slippers on were 
walking across the room; and this was accompanied also 
with a noise as of a walking-stick on which some one 
was leaning, striking the floor step by step; the person 
seeming, as far as one could judge by the sound, to be 
walking up and down the room. Hahn jested at this, 
Kern laughed, and both went to sleep, still not seriously 
disposed to ascribe these strange phenomena to any 
supernatural source. 

"Next evening, however, it seemed impossible to 
ascribe the occurrences to any natural cause. The 
agency, whatever it was, began to throw various articles 
about the room; knives, forks, brushes, caps, slippers, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 245 

padlocks, a funnel, snuffers, soap, in short, whatever was 
loose about the apartment. Even candlesticks flew 
about, first from one corner, then from another. If the 
things had been left lying as they fell, the whole room 
would have been strewed in utter confusion. At the 
same time there fell at intervals more lime; but the 
knockings were discontinued. Then the friends called 
up the two coachmen and Hahii's servant, besides young 
Knittel, the watchman of the castle, and others; all of 
whom were witnesses of these disturbances." 

It is not necessary for my purpose to copy the whole 
narrative, which occupies eight or nine pages of Mr. 
Owen's work. 

After the disturbances had continued about three 
weeks, Hahn and Kern removed into the room immedi- 
ately above the one they were occupying; but the same 
disturbances followed thern to their new apartmeut. 
The story of the disturbances spread over the neighbor- 
hood, and others visited the castle and witnessed them. 
Finally the two friends moved into another room — 
the third occupied — when the disturbances appear to 
have ceased. 

The narrative is taken by Mr. Owen from Dr. 
Kerner's life of the Seeress of Prevorst, it having been 
communicated to the Dr. by Hahn; and is attested by 
the latter as follows : — 

"I saw and heard everything, exactly as here set 
down; observing the whole carefully and quietly. I 
experienced no fear whatever; yet I am wholly unable 
to account for the occurrences narrated. 

"Written this 19th of November, 1808. 

"Councilor Hahn." 

21* 



24G THE INVISIBLES. 

Two subsequent letters from Hahn to Dr. Kerner, 
upon the subject are published, the latest dated May, 
1831. 

It is also stated that a gentleman of the utmost 
respectability, residing in Stuttgart, visited Slawensik in 
the year 1830, for the purpose of verifying the narra- 
tive; and that, while some ridiculed it, the only two 
men he met with, survivors of those who had witnessed 
the events, confirmed the accuracy of the narrative in 
every particular. 

" This gentleman further ascertained that the castle of 
Slawensik had been since destroyed, and that in clearing 
away the ruins, there was found a male skeleton walled 
in and without coffin, with the skull split open. By 
the side of this skeleton lay a sword." 

This last story is not very well authenticated. There 
may have been some tragedy enacted in the castle which 
was the cause of its being haunted by beings of the 
other world, but it is equally probable that the cause 
was, the latter having lived there a life of pleasure. 

The disturbances were never, — so far as appears from 
the narrative of Hahn, and the statement of the gentle- 
man who subsequently visited the place — witnessed 
before or since the visit of Hahn and Kern ; and it is 
evident on reading the whole narrative, that Hahn was 
the medium. 

In the portion I have copied it is stated that when 
Kern and young Knittel went into the room above, 
Hahn continued to hear the knockings, but the two 
former heard nothing; and it does not appear that any 
disturbances were witnessed when Hahn was not present, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 247 

while it is stated that Hahn witnessed them, when 
entirely alone in the castle. 

"Hahn resolved that he would investigate them seri- 
ously. He accordingly, one evening, sat down -at his 
writing-table, with two lighted candles before him; 
being so placed that he could observe the whole room, 
and especially all the windows and doors. He was 
left, for a time, entirely alone in the castle, the coachmen 
being in the stables, and Kern having gone out. Yet 
the very same occurrences took place as before; nay, 
the snuffers, under his very eyes, were raised and whirled 
about." 

The disturbances in the residence of the Fox family, 
at Hydesville, N. Y., also commenced soon after the 
family had moved into the house. They — or certain 
members of the family — were probably the first occu- 
pants, through whom the beings of the other world 
visiting the house, could cause the disturbances, as Hahn 
was the first at the castle. The great difference in the 
two cases is, that a member of the Fox family dis- 
covered a mode of communicating with the "spirits," and 
therefore she, and one or two of her sisters, became 
known as mediums, and were followed wherever they 
went by the " spirits." Had Hahn made the same dis- 
covery, he undoubtedly would also have been followed 
from the castle. 

This explains the fact, that before the rise of modern 
spiritualism, stories of haunted houses — that is, of 
houses in which any visitor was liable to be visited by a 
"ghost" — were more frequent than at present. 

An individual visiting the house, would see an appa- 
rition, or hear strange noises, or see articles moved by 



248 THE INVISIBLES. 

invisible agency ; possibly out of a considerable number 
visiting the house, two or three would have similar 
experience, others would imagine they saw a " ghost," or 
heard strange noises, and thus the house got the reputa- 
tion of being haunted. 

The popular belief was probably correct on the main 
point, the error being in supposing that one person was 
as likely as another to witness the occurrences. 

Since a mode of communication has been discovered, 
and "mediums" have become common, the class of 
beings of the other world who haunt ours, mostly gather 
around the mediums: and their desire for communication 
with our world is so great, that, when this desire is 
gratified, they will generally cease their annoyances. 

It may be thought by some, that if Councilor Hahn 
was a medium through whom such disturbances could 
be produced, the fact goes to disprove the theory that 
mediums of this class are never very intellectual. 

I presume the title "councilor" indicates that he was 
a member of the prince's council, and nothing more. 
This is no evidence that he either was, or was not, an 
intellectual man. The council of a petty German prince 
could have no large amount of intellectual labor to perform 
in its official capacity. The princes themselves are not, 
even at the present time, remarkable for intellectuality. 

There is in this narrative an account of an apparition, 
which, .1 think, supports my statement that they are 
mostly impressional, or hallucinations. 

One evening, when the disturbances were going on, 
" Kern, half undressed, paced the room in deep thought. 
Suddenly he stopped before a mirror, into which he 
chanced to look. After gazing upon it for some ten 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 249 

minutes, he began to tremble, turned deadly pale, and 
moved away. Hahn, thinking that he had been sud- 
denly taken ill from the cold, hastened to him and threw 
a cloak over his shoulders. Then Kern, naturally a 
fearless man, took courage, and related to his friend, 
though still with quivering lips, that he had seen in the 
mirror the appearance of a female figure, in white, look- 
ing at him, and apparently before him, for he could see 
the reflection of himself behind it. It was some time 
before he could persuade himself that he really saw this 
figure; and for that reason he remained so Jong before 
the glass. Willingly would he have' believed that it 
was a mere trick of his imagination ; but as the figure 
looked at him full in the face, and he could perceive its 
eyes move, a shudder passed over him, and he turned 
away. Hahn instantly went to the mirror and called 
upon the image to show itself to him ; but, though he 
remained a quarter of an hour before it, and often re- 
peated his invocation, he saw nothing." 

As I have frequently heard of appai*itions being seen 
in mirrors, and of persons " divining" by looking into 
crystals, I am inclined to believe that the act of gazing 
steadily into these will sometimes produce hallucinations. 

But, whether produced in this way, or by one of the 
beings of the other world, the vision of Kern was 
evidently an instance of hallucination. He saw the 
reflection of himself behind the other reflection, therefore 
the object reflected, if there was any, must have been 
between him and the mirror. Now a plane mirror does 
not increase the distinctness of an object; on the con- 
trary, the reflection is less distinct than the object itself. 
Therefore if there had been any object between him and 



250 THE INVISIBLES. 

the mirror capable of being reflected, he would have seen 
the object, and not merely the reflection. 

The narratives in this chapter are so much alike, and 
the phenomena described, so similar to what has been 
witnessed by thousands since the rise of modern spiritu- 
alism, that I will only notice the several narratives so 
far as they appear to confirm or negative the theory 
I have given. 

" Tlie Glanvil Narrative" is an account given by the 
Rev. Joseph Glanvil, chaplain-in-ordinary to Charles 
II. of disturbances in the house of Mr. Mompesson, at 
Ted worth, England, continuing from April, 1661, until 
April, 1663. 

From the first part of the narrative it would be 
impossible to decide who was the medium ; no particular 
member of the family is indicated. But on reading the 
whole, it appears pretty evident that a daughter, about 
ten years of age, was a medium, and I should infer, the 
only one in the house ; but upon this point it is some- 
what difficult to decide. 

" The Wesley Narrative" gives an account of similar 
disturbances in the parsonage of Rev. Samuel Wesley, 
father of the celebrated John Wesley. 

It is impossible to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion 
as to the medium, or mediums, in this case. It would 
appear from this narrative, as well as from a portion of 
the Glanvil narrative, that the occurrences could not 
have been owing to the presence of any one, two, or 
three individuals in the house. But all observations of 
the phenomena by persons not familiar with the same, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 251 

are usually at first equally inaccurate. The first portion 
of the Glanvil narrative was derived by that gentleman 
from Mr. Mompesson and others. Mr. Glanvil states 
that when he visited the house, the "demon or spirit" 
haunted two children — girls between seven and eleven 
years of age ; and he witnessed no disturbances except 
in the presence of these children. 

The following narrative shows more clearly inaccu- 
racy in the first observations. It is taken from a work 
by Mackay, on " Popular Delusions/' he considering it 
an example of the kind. 

" The Farm-Souse of Baldarroch, Scotland. On the 
5th of December, 1838, the inmates of the farm-house 
of Baldarroch, in the district of Banchory, Aberdeen- 
shire, were alarmed by observing a great number of 
sticks, pebble-stones, and clods of earth flying about 
their yard and premises. They endeavored, but in vain, 
to discover who was the delinquent, and the shower of 
stones continuing for five days in succession, they came 
at last to the conclusion that the devil and his imps 
were alone the cause of it. The rumor soon spread all 
over that part of the country, and hundreds of persons 
came from far and near to witness the antics of the dev- 
ils of Baldarroch. After the fifth day, the showers of 
clods and stones ceased on the outside of the premises, 
and the scene shifted to the interior. Spoons, knives, 
plates, mustard-pots, rolling-pins, and flat-irons appeared 
suddenly endued with the power of self-motion, and 
were whirled from room to room, and rattled down the 
chimneys, in a manner nobody could account for. The 
lid of a mustard-pot was put into a cupboard by a ser- 



252 THE INVISIBLES. 

vant girl, in the presence of scores of people, and in a 
few minutes afterward came bouncing down the chim- 
ney, to the consternation of everybody. There was also 
a tremendous knocking at the doors and on the roof, 
and pieces of stick and pebble-stones rattled against the 
windows and broke them. The whole neighborhood 
was a scene of alarm ; and not only the vulgar, but per- 
sons of education, respectable farmers within a circle 
of twenty miles, expressed their belief in the super- 
natural character of these events." 

If the narrative terminated here, it would be impos- 
sible to account for the disturbances consistently with 
the theory I have given ; far more difficult than to ac- 
count for those described in the Glanvil and Wesley 
narratives. But Mackay's narrative closes as follows : — 

"After a fortnight's continuance of the noises, the 
whole trick was discovered. The two servant-lasses 
were strictly examined, and then committed to prison. 
It appeared that they alone were at the bottom of the 
whole affair, and that the extraordinary alarm and cre- 
dulity of their master and mistress in the first instance, 
and of the neighbors and country-people afterwards, 
made their task comparatively easy. A little common 
dexterity was all they had used; and, being themselves 
unsuspected, they swelled the alarm by the wonderful 
stories they invented. It was they who loosened the 
bricks in the chimneys and placed the dishes in such a 
manner on the shelves that they fell on the slightest 
motion." 

Mr. Owen adds, " The proof that the girls were the 
authors of all the mischief appears to have rested on 
the fact that ' no sooner were they secured in the county 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 253 

gaol, than the noises ceased ;' and thus, says Mackay, 
'most people were convinced that human agency alone 
had worked all the wonder.' Others, however, he ad- 
mits, still held out in their first belief, and were entirely 
dissatisfied with the explanation, as indeed they very 
well might be, if we are to trust to the details given by 
Mackay himself of these disturbances." 

It appears then, that it was finally observed that the 
disturbances occurred only in the presence of the two 
servant-girls ; (a closer observation would possibly have 
showed that they occurred only in the presence of one), 
and when they were removed the disturbances ceased. 

The account then, especially the description of the 
showers of sticks, stones and clods of earth, flying about 
the yard and premises, must be an exaggeration. 

The other narratives in this chapter, with a single ex- 
ception, clearly indicate that the disturbances occurred 
only in the presence of certain individuals. Mr. Owen 
seems to have noticed this fact. In reference to the 
Mackay narrative he says : — 

" One can understand that a court of justice should 
admit, as presumptive proof against the girls, the fact 
that from the time they were lodged in jail, the disturb- 
ances ceased. With the lights before them, the pre- 
sumption was not unreasonable. But I have already 
adduced some proof, and shall hereafter add more, that 
such disturbances appear to attach to individuals, (or, in 
other words, to occur in certain localities in their pre- 
sence) without any agency — at least any conscious agency 
— on the part of those persons themselves." 

But the next narrative he gives is the one I have re- 



22 



254 THE INVISIBLES. 

ferred to, as being the only one in the chapter confuting 
this theory. I will give a pretty full synopsis. 

" The Cemetery of Ahrensburg. In the immediate 
vicinity of Ahrensburg, the only town in the Island of 
Oesel,* is the public cemetery. Tastefully laid out and 
carefully kept, planted with trees and partly surrounded 
by a grove dotted with evergreens, it is a favorite prom- 
enade of the inhabitants. Besides its tombs, — in every 
variety, from the humblest to the most elaborate, — it 
contains several private chapels, each the burying-place 
of some family of distinction. Underneath each of 
these is a vault, paved with wood, to which the descent 
is by a stairway from inside the chapel and closed by a 
door. The coffins of the members of the family more 
recently deceased usually remain for a time in the 
chapel. They are afterward transferred to the vaults, 
and there placed side by side, elevated on iron bars. 
These coffins it is the custom to make of massive oak, 
very heavy and strongly put together. 

" The public highway passes in front of the cemetery 
and at a short distance therefrom. Conspicuous, and to 
be seen by the traveler as he rides by, are three chapels, 
facing the highway. Of these the most spacious, 
adorned with pillars in front, is that belonging to the 
family of Buxhoewden, of patrician descent, and origi- 
nally from the city of Bremen. It has been their place 
of interment for several generations." 

It was in this chapel, which for some eight or ten 
years previous to the incidents narrated, had the reputa- 
tion of being haunted, that the disturbances took place. 

* In the Baltic. 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 255 

It was the habit of the country people visiting the 
cemetery, to fasten their horses immediately in front of, 
and close to this chapel. 

On the second day of Pentecost, Monday, the 22d of 
June, in the year 1844, a woman visited the cemetery, 
and fastened her horse, as usual, in front of the chapel. 
While kneeling in prayer by the grave of her mother, 
situated behind the chapel, the woman had an indistinct 
perception, as she afterward remembered, that she heard 
noises in the direction of the chapel. On completing 
her prayers, and returning to her horse, she found it 
covered with sweat and foam, its limbs trembling, and 
appearing to be in mortal terror. It was scarcely able 
to walk, and she was obliged to call a veterinary surgeon, 
who said the horse must have been excessively terrified 
from some cause or other. He bled it, administered a 
remedy, and the animal recovered. 

The following Sunday several persons who had fas- 
tened their horses in front of the chapel, reported that 
they found them in a somewhat similar condition; and 
some of them stated that they heard, seeming to proceed 
from the vaults of the chapel, rumbling sounds which 
occasionally assumed the character of groans. 

"And this was but the prelude to further disturbances, 
gradually increasing in frequency. One day in the 
course of the next month (July) it happened that eleven 
horses were fastened close to the columns of the chapel. 
Some persons, passing near by, and hearing, as they 
alleged, loud voices, as if issuing from beneath the 
building, raised the alarm; and when the owners reached 
the spot they found the poor animals in a pitiable con- 
dition. Several of them, in their frantic efforts to 



256 THE INVISIBLES. 

escape, had thrown themselves on the ground, and lay 
struggling there; others were scarcely able to walk or 
stand; and all were violently affected, so that it became 
necessary immediately to resort to bleeding and other 
means of relief. In the case of three or four of them 
these means proved unavailing. They died within a 
day or two. 

"This was serious. And it was the cause of a formal 
complaint being made by some of the sufferers to the 
consistory, — a court holding its sitting at Ahrensburg 
and having charge of ecclesiastical affairs. 

"About the same time a member of the Buxhoewden 
family died. At his funeral, during the reading in the 
chapel of the service for the dead, what seemed groans 
and other strange noises were heard from beneath, to 
the great terror of some of the assistants, the servants 
especially. The horses attached to the hearse and to the 
mourning coaches were sensibly affected, but not so 
violently as some of the others had been. After the 
interment three or four of those who had been present, 
bolder than their neighbors, descended to the vault. 
While there they heard nothing; but they found, to 
their infinite surprise, that, of the numerous coffins 
which had been deposited there in due order side by side, 
almost all had been displaced and lay in a confused pile. 
They sought in vain for any cause that might account 
for this. The doors were always kept carefully fastened, 
and the locks showed no signs of having been tampered 
with. The coffins were replaced in due order." 

The excitement increasing, and renewed complaints 
reaching the consistory, an inquiry was proposed, which 
the family at first objected to, treating the matter as a 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 257 

trick or scandal set- on foot by their enemies. But the 
Baron de Guldeustubbe', president of the consistory, 
having visited the vault privately in company with two 
members of the family, and found the coffins again in 
the same disorder, — which were again replaced — an 
official investigation was assented to. 

" The persons charged with this investigation were the 
Baron de Gruldenstubbe as president, and the bishop of 
the province, as vice-president of the consistory; two 
other members of the same body; a physician named 
Luce; and, on the part of the magistracy of the town, 
the burgomeister, named Schmidt, one of the syndics, 
and a secretary. 

"They proceeded, in a body, to institute a careful 
examination of the vault. All the coffins there deposi- 
ted, with the exception of three, were found this time, 
as before, displaced. Of the three coffins forming the 
exception, one contained the remains of a grandmother 
of the then representative of the family, who had died 
about five years previous; and the two others were of 
young children. The grandmother had been, in life, 
revered almost as a saint, for her great piety and constant- 
deeds of charity and benevolence." 

The commission found, on examination, that nothing 
had been carried off; the ornaments of the coffins were 
found untouched, and the articles of jewelry, which had 
been buried with the corpses, remained in the coffins. 
They had the pavement of the vault taken up, and the 
foundations of the chapel carefully examined, to ascertain 
if there was any subterranean entrance, but found none. 

" Nothing remained but to replace everything in due 
order, taking exact note of the position of the coffins, 

22 * 



258 THE INVISIBLES. 

and to adopt especial precautions for the detection of any 
future intrusion. This, accordingly, was done. Both 
doors, the inner and the outer, after being carefully 
locked, were doubly sealed ; first with the official seal 
of the consistory, then with that bearing the arms of the 
city. Fine wood-ashes were strewed all over the wooden 
pavement of the vault, the stairs leading down to it from 
the chapel, and the floor of the chapel itself. Finally, 
guards, selected from the garrison of the town and re- 
lieved at short intervals, were set for three days and 
nights to watch the building and prevent any one from 
approaching it.* 

" At the end of that time the commission of inquiry 
returned to ascertain the result. Both doors were found 
securely locked and the seals inviolate. They entered. 
The coating of ashes still presented a smooth unbroken 
surface. Neither in the chapel nor on the stairway 
leading to the vault was there the trace of a footstep of 
man or animal. The vault was sufficiently lighted from 
the chapel to make every object distinctly visible. They 
descended. With beating hearts, they gazed on the 
spectacle before them. Not only was every coffin, with 
the same three exceptions as before, displaced, and the 
whole scattered in confusion over the place, but many 
of them, weighty as they were, had been set on end, so 
that the head of the corpse was downward. Nor was 
even this all. The lid of one coffin had been partially 
forced open, and there projected the shriveled right arm 
of the corpse it contained, showing beyond the elbow; 
the lower arm being turned up toward the ceiling of the 
vault!" 

* It does not appear that the guard heard noises of any kind. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 259 

No trace of footstep was discovered in the vault, and 
this time, as before, the commission found that nothing 
had been carried off. 

"They approached, with some trepidation, the coffin 
from one side of which the arm projected; and, with a 
shudder, they recognized it as that in which had been 
placed the remains of a member of the Buxhoewden 
family who had committed suicide. The matter had 
been hushed up at the time, through the influence of the 
family, and the self-destroyer had been buried with the 
usual ceremonies; but the fact transpired, and was known 
all over the island, that he was found with his throat 
cut and the bloody razor still grasped in his right hand,* 
— the same hand that was now thrust forth to human 
view from under the coffin-lid ; a ghastly memorial, it 
seemed, of the rash deed which had ushered the unhappy 
man, uncalled, into another world!" 

The commission, it is stated, made an official report, 
which is to be found in the archives of the consistory. 
Mr. Owen however has not seen it. 

"It remains to be stated that, as the disturbances con- 
tinued for several months after this investigation, the 
family, in order to get rid of the annoyance, resolved to 
try the effect of burying the coffins. This they did, 
covering them up, to a considerable depth, with earth. 
The expedient succeeded. From that time forth no 
noises were heard to proceed from the chapel; horses 
could be fastened with impunity before it; and the in- 
habitants, recovering from their alarm, frequented with 
their children, as usual, their favorite resort." 

This narrative was given Mr. Owen, by Mademoiselle 

* The first instance of the kind I have read of, so far as I can recollect. 



260 THE INVISIBLES. 

de Guldenstubbe*, daughter of the baron referred to. It 
is impossible to account for the disturbances consistently 
with the theory I have given, for they appear to have 
occurred when no one of our world was in or near the 
chapel. The question then is, as to the authenticity of 
the narrative. 

In the copy of Mr. Owen's work which I have, I find 
on page 345, the following, " Note to tenth thousand" 

" In the first editions of this work, another narrative, 
bearing upon the habitual appearance of a living per- 
son, was here given. It is now replaced by that of the 
' Two Sisters,' for the following reasons. A friend of 
one of the parties concerned, having made inquiries re- 
garding the story, kindly furnished me with the result ; 
and the evidence thus adduced tended to invalidate es- 
sential portions of it. A recent visit to Europe enabled 
me to make further inquiries into the matter ; and 
though, in some respects, these were confirmatory, yet I 
learned that a considerable portion of the narrative in 
question, ivhich had been represented to me as directly at- 
tested, was in reality sustained only by second-hand evi- 
dence. This circumstance, taken in connection with the 
conflicting statements above referred to, places the story 
outside the rule of authentication to which in these 
pages I have endeavored scrupulously to conform ; and 
I therefore omit it altogether." 

On examination of a copy of the first edition, I find 
that the narrative since omitted, is entitled, " Why a 
Livonian School- Teacher lost her situation ;" and that it 
was given Mr. Owen, by Mademoiselle de Guldens- 
tubbe'. It is about as" wonderful a story as that of the 
chapel. I infer that some friend of the school-teacher, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 261 

having read Mr. Owen's work, took the trouble to ex- 
amine into the matter, and the result was as stated by 
Mr. Owen. In this case Mademoiselle de Guldens- 
tubbe* was, as she stated, a pupil at the school, and she 
professed to describe what had taken place under her 
own observation. That narrative therefore was far more 
likely to be accurate than the one relative to the chapel, 
in which she only professed to state what she had heard 
through various sources. It appears to me, that under 
such circumstances, Mr. Owen should have omitted the 
latter narrative also. 

It is true, Mr. Owen says, the brother of the lady 
confirmed the story. But confirming a story in a gen- 
eral sort of way, and giving the particulars of the same, 
are very different things. I presume the brother would 
have confirmed the story relative to the school-teacher, 
for he must have heard something about the matter. 

It appears from Mr. Owen's note, which I have 
copied, that the narrative relative to the school-teacher 
was not wholly fictitious ; I presume that relative to the 
chapel was not; and we can easily conceive that an 
imaginative and credulous lady, who was quite young 
at the time of the occurrences, stated in each case what 
she believed to be the facts ; but the attempt to explain 
either narrative would be idle. 

In reference to the disturbances having ceased when 
the coffins were buried, Mr. Owen says : — 

" Finally, if these disturbances are to be ascribed to 
trickery, why should the tricksters have discontinued their 
persecution as soon as the coffins were put under ground? 

" This last difficulty, however, exists equally in case 
we adopt the spiritual hypothesis. If to interference 



262 THE INVISIBLES. 

from another world these phenomena were due, why 
should that interference have ceased from the moment 
the coffins were buried ?" 

It would be very difficult to account for this, suppos- 
ing the narrative to be strictly accurate; for even if 
burying the coffins prevented their being disturbed — and 
I see no reason why it should, upon any other theory 
than that I have given — yet this would not prevent the 
groans, and other terrible noises, which frightened the 
horses to death. 

But supposing the coffins were moved by beings of 
the other world, when some particular individual of ours 
was in, or very near the chapel, in the way I have stated 
such things are done; evidently they could not be thus 
moved when buried several feet deep in the earth ; and 
if the only noises heard, were caused by moving the 
coffins, these would also cease. 

In reference to the point I have endeavored to estab- 
lish, namely, that these occurrences only take place in 
the presence of certain individuals, called mediums, the 
fact that within the past few years they have been wit- 
nessed in the presence of such individuals, by thousands 
who never witnessed them elsewhere, is very strong, if 
not conclusive proof of the truth of the position. 

The next two chapters are on, "Apparitions of the 
Living" and "Apparitions of the Dead." 

It will be perceived from the following extract from 
the latter chapter, that Mr. Owen, in common with 
most — if not all — spiritualists, considers the phenomena 
in each case to be of the same character. 

"If, as St. Paul teaches and Swedenborgians believe, 
there go to make up the personality of man a natural 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 263 

body and a spiritual body; if these co-exist, while 
earthly life endures, in each one of us; if, as the apostle 
further intimates and the preceding chapter seems to 
prove,* the spiritual body — a counterpart, it would 
seem, to human sight, of the natural body — may, during 
life, occasionally detach itself, to some extent or other, 
and for a time, from the material flesh and blood which 
for a few years it pervades in intimate association ; and 
if death be but the issuing forth of the spiritual body 
from its temporary associate; then, at the moment of its 
exit, it is that spiritual body which through life may 
have been occasionally and partially detached from the 
natural body, and which at last is thus entirely and for- 
ever divorced from it, that passes into another state of 
existence. 

"But if that spiritual body, while still connected with 
its earthly associate, could under certain circumstances, 
appear distinct and distant from the natural body, and 
perceptible to human vision, if not to human touch, 
what strong presumption is there against the suppo- 
sition that after its final emancipation the same spiritual 
body may still at times show itself to man?" 

Admitting the premises to be correct, the supposition 
is a natural one. The question then is as to whether a 
spiritual body is ever seen by persons of our world. 

I will next notice Mr. Owen's remarks about hallu- 
cinations. He makes the following distinction between 
hallucinations and illusions. By the former he under- 

* The reader will understand that the chapter from which this is 
taken, follows that on Apparitions of the Living. I give the extract 
here, to show that he considers apparitions of the living and the dead 
to be alike. 



264 THE INVISIBLES. 

stands, "a false perception of that which has no exis- 
tence whatever;" by the latter, "an incorrect perception 
of something which actually exists." 

"An illusion, unlike a hallucination, has a foundation 
in reality. We actually see or hear something, which 
we mistake for something else." * * * 

"There are collective illusions; for it is evident that 
the same false appearance which deceives the senses of 
one man is not unlikely to deceive those of others 
also." 

"But I know of no well-authenticated instance of 
collective hallucinations. No two patients that I ever 
heard of imagined the presence of the same cat or dog 
at the same moment. None of Nicolai's* friends per- 
ceived the figures which showed themselves to him. 
When Brutus's evil genius appeared to the Roman 
leader, no one but himself saw the colossal presence or 
heard the warning words, 'We shall meet again at 
Philippi.' It was Nero's eyes alone that were haunted 
with the specter of his murdered mother. 

"This is a distinction of much practical importance. 
If two persons perceive at the same time the same 
phenomenon, we may conclude that that phenomenon is 
an objective reality, — has, in some phase or other, actual 
existence." 

Instances of collective hallucinations are probably not 
as common as those of collective illusions, for the reason 
that the former can only occur by the mind of one 
person, who first experiences the hallucination, acting 
on that of others. This could not be expected to 

* An individual who imagined that his room was full of human 
figures, moving about. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 265 

happen very often. But, as Mr. Owen has been inves- 
tigating this subject, if he has met with no well-authen- 
ticated instances of collective hallucinations, he has, I 
think, been singularly unfortunate. I am quite confi- 
dent that I have occasionally heard of such instances, 
but cannot now recollect them, or the authority for the 
same. But as Mr. Owen cites Catharine Crowe's 
"Night Side of Nature" I will copy one or two narratives 
from that work, which appear to be as authentic as any 
in the volume. It is a peculiarity of this authoress that 
she seldom gives the authority for the narrative. 

As Mr. Owen says that he never heard of two 
patients who, at the same moment, imagined the pre- 
sence of the same cat or dog — meaning, I suppose, 
animals of any kind, — I will first copy an instance of 
that nature. 

" During the seven years' war in Germany, a drover 
lost his life in a drunken squabble on the high road. 

"For some time there w r as a sort of rude tombstone, 
with a cross on it, to mark the spot where his body was 
interred; but this has long fallen, and a mile-stone now 
fills its place. Nevertheless, it continues commonly 
asserted by the country people, and also by various 
travelers, that they have been deluded in that spot by 
seeing, as they imagine, herds of beasts, which on 
investigation prove to be merely visionary. Of course, 
many people look upon this as a superstition; but a 
very singular confirmation of the story occurred in the 
year 1826, when two gentlemen and two ladies were 
passing the spot in a post carriage. One of these was a 
clergyman, and none of them had ever heard of the 
phenomenon said to be attached to the place. They 

23 



266 THE INVISIBLES. 

had been discussing the prospects of the minister, who 
was on his way to a vicarage, to which he had just been 
appointed, when they saw a large flock of sheep, which 
streched quite across the road, and was accompanied by 
a shepherd and a long haired black dog. As to meet 
cattle on that road was nothing uncommon, and indeed 
they had met several droves in the course of the day, 
no remark was made at the moment, till suddenly each 
looked at the other and said, 'What is become of the 
sheep?' Quite perplexed at their sudden disappearance, 
they called to the postillion to stop, and all got out, in 
order to mount a little elevation and look around, but 
still unable to discover them, they now bethought them- 
selves of asking the postillion where they were; when, 
to their infinite surprise, they learnt that he had not 
seen them. Upon this, they bade him quicken his 
pace, that they might overtake a carriage that had 
passed them shortly before, and inquire if that party 
had seen the sheep; but they had not. 

" Four years later, a postmaster named J , was on 

the same road, driving a carriage in which were a cler- 
gyman and his wife, when he saw a large flock of sheep 
near the same spot. Seeing they were very fine wethers, 
and supposing them to have been bought at a sheep-fair 

that was then taking place a few miles off, J drew 

up his reins and stopped his horses, turning at the same 
time to the clergyman to say, that he wanted to inquire 
the price of the sheep, as he intended going next day to 
the fair himself. Whilst the minister was asking him 
what sheep he meant, J got down and found him- 
self in the midst of the animals, the size and beauty of 
which astonished him. They passed him at an unusual 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 267 

rate, whilst he made his way through them to find the 
shepherd, when, on getting to the end of the flock, they 
suddenly disappeared. He then first learnt that his fel- 
low-travelers had not seen them at all." 

In the first case, if we are to credit the narrative — 
and it bears the mark of probability — four persons saw 
at the same moment, the same black dog and a flock of 
sheep. Whether these four were connections by blood 
or marriage, we are not informed ; but we may assume 
that they were at least acquaintances, and they had been 
riding for some time in the same carriage, engaged in 
conversation, thus having become to some extent en rap- 
port, so that the mind of one experiencing a hallucina- 
tion would affect that of another. The postillion, who 
was not in a position to become en rapport with the 
party, did not experience the hallucination. 

In the second case, we have no reason to suppose that 

the mind of Mr. J , the driver, would have any 

effect upon the two persons in the carriage, and the lat- 
ter did not experience the hallucination. 

If neither of the parties experiencing the hallucina- 
tion, had previously heard of the phenomenon as being 
connected with the locality, I can imagine but two 
causes which might produce it. 

Owiag to the experience I have had, it is not in my 
view so improbable a supposition as it will doubtless 
appear to the reader, that a being of the other world — 
the drover or the one who killed him — may have 
haunted, or occasionally visited the locality, and caused 
the hallucinations. 

The other idea is, that there may have been some pe- 
culiar formation of ground, or other objects at the lo- 



268 THE INVISIBLES. 

cality, tending, in connection with the fact that the party- 
had met flocks of sheep, to produce, what Mr. Owen 
calls an illusion, and an illusion will frequently cause a 
hallucination. 

That the phenomenon cannot be accounted for by call- 
ing it an "illusion" is very evident. It would be very 
strange, if, while it was a very rare circumstance that 
any one passing the spot experienced anything of the 
kind, all four in the carriage should, the mind of each 
uninfluenced by that of another, experience precisely the 
same illusion, which disappeared in all at the same in- 
stant. Besides, a very slight change of position on the 
part of the spectator will dispel an illusion, but Mr. 

J continued to see the sheep, thinking himself in 

the midst of the flock, after he had got down from the 
carriage. 

The following narrative is from the same work : — 
" About the year 1750, a visionary army of the same 
description* was seen in the neighborhood of Inverness 
by a respectable farmer of Glenary, and his son. The 
number of troops was very great, and they had not the 
slightest doubt that they were otherwise than substantial 
forms of flesh and blood. They counted at least sixteen 
pairs of columns, and had abundance of time to ob- 
serve every particular. The front ranks marched seven 
abreast, and were accompanied by a good many women 
and children, who were carrying tin cans and other im- 
plements of cookery. The men were clothed in red, 
and their arms shone brightly in the sun. In the midst 
of them was an animal, a deer, or a horse, they could 
not distinguish which, that they were driving furiously 
* Referring to a preceding narrative. 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 269 

forward with their bayonets. The younger of the two 
men observed to the other, that every now and then, the 
rear ranks were obliged to run to overtake the van ; and 
the elder one, who had been a soldier, remarked that 
that was always the case, and recommended him, if he 
ever served, to try and march in the front. There was 
only one mounted officer ; he rode a gray dragoon horse, 
and wore a gold-laced hat, and blue Hussar cloak, with 
wide open sleeves lined with red. The two spectators 
observed him so particularly, that they said afterwards 
they should reognize him anywhere. They were, how- 
ever, afraid of being ill-treated, or forced to go along 
with the troops, whom they concluded had come from 
Ireland, and landed at Kyntyre ; and whilst they were 
climbing over a dyke to get out of their way, the whole 
thing vanished." 

Here, whatever caused the hallucination, there was 
probably formed in the mind of the father, who had been 
a soldier, a likeness of what he had actually seen, and 
his mind impressed the image on that of the son. 

As to Mr. Owen's remark that none with Nicolai and 
others, saw the figures that those persons imagined they 
did, I cannot perceive how this fact proves that there 
are no collective hallucinations. I presume he would 
not deny that one person may be the subject of an illu- 
sion, while others present, who saw the same object, were 
not ; and if this does not prove that there can be no col- 
lective illusions, how does a similar instance of halluci- 
nation, prove that there can be no collective halluci- 
nations ? 

In reference to his position that there are none such, 
Mr. Owen says, " The results of what have been usually 

23* 



270 THE INVISIBLES. 

called electro-biological experiments cannot with any 
propriety be adduced in confutation of this position. 
The biologized patient knowingly and voluntarily sub- 
jects himself to an artificial influence, of which the 
temporary effect is to produce false sensations; just as 
the eater of hasheesh, or the chewer of opium, conjures 
up the phantasmagoria of a partial insanity, or the con- 
firmed drunkard exposes himself to the terrible delu- 
sions of delirium-tremens. But all these sufferers know, 
when the fit has passed, that there was nothing of real- 
ity in the imaginations that overcame them." 

The biologized patient is not given anything to eat or 
drink ; he simply remains, as far as possible, passive, 
and the effect is wholly produced by the mind, or will 
of the operator. It is true there is something different, 
or rather something more in his case, than in that of 
one who is merely the subject of a hallucination; for in 
the former case, the patient's will seems to be subject to 
that of the operator. The experiments simply prove 
that the mind of one person can, under certain condi- 
tions, produce hallucinations in those of several other 
persons, at the same moment. 

Of course the patients know, when the experiments 
are over, that there was nothing of reality in what they 
imagined they saw, because they are told in the first 
place the nature of the experiments. But suppose this 
was never explained to them ; and let us further sup- 
pose them to have heard of spiritualism ; now, if the 
operator told them that he could open their "spiritual 
vision," or " interior perception," so that they could 
perceive objects invisible to them in their normal state, 
can any one doubt that some of them would continue to 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 271 

believe that they had really perceived the object? Cer- 
tainly, if they were made to think they saw human 
figures, there can be no doubt that many would after- 
ward believe they had seen "spirits." 

Mr. Owen maintains, that while the fact that two or 
more persons perceive at the same time, the same object, 
is evidence that it is not a case of hallucination, it does 
not follow that if only one person among many per- 
ceives 'an object, it is a case of hallucination. 

" There is nothing, then, absurd or illogical in the 
supposition that some persons may have true perceptions 
of which we are unconscious. We may not be able to 
comprehend how they receive these ; but our ignorance 
of the mode of action does not disprove the reality of 
the effect. I knew an English gentleman who, if a cat 
had been secreted in a room where he was, invariably 
and infallibly detected her presence. Hoiv he perceived 
this, except by a general feeling of uneasiness, he could 
never explain ; yet the fact was certain." 

I doubt the ability of the gentleman to detect the pre- 
sence of a cat, unless some person present knew it was in 
the room. But suppose the case as stated. Then the gen- 
tleman did not think he saw the cat. But most persons 
who believe that they have when awake, perceived 
" spirits," state that they saw them with their eyes, in 
the usual way. Now if they do not see them in the 
natural way, but have some other mode of perception, 
how is it that they are liable to this deception ? We are 
not thus deceived by our other senses : we do not ima- 
gine that we see sound, or hear color, or smell form. 

But the first narrative I shall copy contradicts, I 
think, Mr. Owen's theory. He says, in reference to it, 



272 THE INVISIBLES. 

"In the next case, if it be one of hallucination, two 
senses were deceived." 

He must either mean, our natural senses of seeing 
and hearing, or that the observer had two senses of this 
nature, in addition to those of most persons. 

"Sight and Sound. During the winter of 1839-40, 

Dr. J E was residing, with his aunt, Mrs. 

L , in a house on Fourteenth Street, near New 

York Avenue, in the city of Washington. 

"Ascending one day from the basement of the house 
to the parlor, he saw his aunt descending the stairs. 
He stepped back to let her pass, which she did, close to 
him, but without speaking. He instantly ascended the 
stairs and entered the parlor, where he found his aunt 
sitting quietly by the side of the fire. 

"The distance from where he first saw the figure to 
the spot where his aunt was actually sitting was between 
thirty and forty feet. The figure seemed dressed exactly 
as his aunt was; and he distinctly heard the rustle of 
her dress as she passed." 

The narrative was related to Mr. Owen by Dr. E 

himself in 1859. 

That the hallucination of sight should cause the hal- 
lucination of hearing, is not at all strange; but is it 

credible that Dr. E could not only see, but hear 

the rustle of a dress, which other persons could not 
perceive at all ? 

"The figure seemed dressed exactly as his aunt was;" 
and this is universally the case, — the dress of the spirit- 
ual body exactly corresponds with that worn by the 
natural body. If not a hallucination, why is this? 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 273 

And what is the dress made of? And how does the 
spiritual body so speedily procure one, precisely resem- 
bling that worn by the natural body; and so substantial 
that the rustling of it can be heard? Questions as to 
the dress, spiritualists always evade, and Mr. Owen 
makes no attempt to explain the matter. 

Some narratives of apparitions would be very absurd, 
viewed in any other light than as being an instance of 
hallucination. The following is one of the kind. 

"Apparition in Ireland. In the summer of the year 
1802, a clergyman of the Established Church, living in 
Ireland, was invited by the bishop to dinner. Return- 
ing from the bishop's about ten o'clock, the clergyman 
approached his own residence through the garden at- 
tached to it. His wife had been left at home, being 
unwell. 

"It was bright moonlight. On issuing from a small 
bed of shrubbery into a garden walk, he perceived, as 
he thought, in another walk, parallel to that in which 
he was, and not more than ten or twelve feet from him, 
the figure of his wife, in her usual dress. Exceedingly 
astonished, he crossed over and confronted her. It was 
his wife. At least, he distinguished her features, in the 
clear moonlight, as plainly as he had ever done in his 
life. 'What are you doing here?' he asked. She did 
not reply, but receded from him, turning to the right, 
toward a kitchen-garden that lay on one side of the 
house. In it there were several rows of peas, staked 
and well grown, so as to shelter any person passing 
behind them. The figure passed round one end of 
these. Mr. followed quickly, in increased asto- 



274 THE INVISIBLES. 

nishment, mingled with alarm; but when he reached 
the open space beyond the peas the figure was nowhere 
to be seen. As there was no spot where, in so short a 
time, it could have sought concealment, the husband 
concluded that it was an apparition, and not his wife, 
that he had seen. He returned to the front door, and, 
instead of availing himself of his pass-key as usual, he 
rang the bell. While on the steps, before the bell was 
answered, looking round, he saw the same figure at the 
corner of the house." 

This was communicated to Mr. Owen by a son of the 
clergyman, in the year 1859. 

Can any one believe that the spiritual body of the 
wife — who was living; at the time — was dodging: around 
the peas, and the corner of the house? Supposing the 
existence of a spiritual body, what possible motive could 
there be for such conduct? I think an unusual quan- 
tity of wine, drank by the clergyman at the bishop's, 
may account for this apparition. This idea is confirmed 
by the fact, that he did not avail himself, as usual, of 
his pass-key, which, I infer, he had with him. 

The following narrative Mr. Owen considers very 
conclusive in favor of the spiritual theory, as the 
apparition was perceived at the same time by two 
persons. 

"Apparition of the living, seen by mother and daughter. 
In the month of May and in the year 1840, Dr. 

D , a noted physician of Washington, was residing 

with his wife and his daughter Sarah (now Mrs. B ) 

at their country seat, near Piney Point, in Virginia, a 
fashionable pleasure resort during the summer months. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 275 

"One afternoon, about five o'clock, the two ladies 
were walking out in a copse-wood not far from their 
residence; when, at a distance on the road, coming 
toward them, they saw a gentleman. 'Sally,' said Mrs. 

D , 'there comes your father to meet us.' 'I think 

not,' the daughter replied; 'that cannot be papa; it is 
not so tall as he.' 

"As he neared them, the daughter's opinion was con- 
firmed. They perceived that it was not Dr. D , but 

a Mr. Thompson, a gentleman with whom they were 
well acquainted, and who was at that time, though they 

then knew it not, a patient of Dr. D 's. They 

observed also as he came nearer, that he was dressed in 
a blue frock coat, black satin waistcoat, and black panta- 
loons and hat. Also, on comparing notes afterward, 
both ladies, it appeared, had noticed that his linen w T as 
particularly fine, and that his whole apparel seemed to 
have been very carefully adjusted. 

"He came up so close that they were on the very 
point of addressing him; but at that moment he stepped 
aside, as if to let them pass; and then, even while the 
eyes of both the ladies were upon him, he suddenly and 
entirely disappeared." 

The ladies learned from Dr. D- that Mr. Thomp- 
son had been confined to his room during the entire 
day. 

The narrative was communicated to Mr. Owen by 
Mrs. D in the year 1859. 

"How strong in this case," Mr. Owen remarks, "is 
the presumptive evidence against hallucination ! Even 
setting aside the received doctrine of the books,* that 

* " The received doctrine of the books," is a common, but very 



276 THE INVISIBLES. 

there is no collective hallucination, how can we imagine 
that there should be produced, at the very same moment, 
without suggestion, or expectation, or unusual excite- 
ment of any kind, on the brain of two different per- 
sons, a perception of the self-same image, minutely 
detailed, without any external object tto produce it? 
Was that image imprinted on the retina in the case both 
of mother and daughter? How could this be if there 
was nothing existing in the outside world to imprint it? 
or was there no image on the retina? Was it a purely 
subjective impression? that is, a false impression due to 
disease? But among the millions of impressions which 
may be produced, if imagination only is the creative 
agent, how infinite the probability against the contin- 
gency that, out of these millions, this one especial 
object should present itself in two independent cases! — 
not only a particular person, dressed in a particular 
manner, but that person advancing along a road, ap- 
proaching within a few steps of the observers, and then 
disappearing! Yet even this is not the limit of the 
adverse chances. There is not only identity of object, 
but exact coincidence of time. The two perceive the 
very same thing at the very same moment; and this 
coincidence continues throughout several minutes. 

"What is the natural and necessary conclusion? 
That there was an image produced on the retina, and 
that there was an objective reality there to produce it. 

"It may seem marvelous, it may appear hard to 
believe, that the appearance of a human being, in his 
usual dress, should present itself where that human 

indefinite term; there is scarcely any doctrine, of a speculative nature, 
about which scientific men do not differ. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 277 

being is not. It would be a thing a thousand times 
more marvelous, ten thousand times harder to believe, 
that the fortuitous action of disease, freely ranging 
throughout the infinite variety of contingent possibili- 
ties, should produce, by mere chance, a mass of coinci- 
dences such as make up, in this case, the concurrent and 
cotemporaneous sensations of mother and daughter." 

To make Mr. Owen's idea of hallucinations more 
clearly understood, I will here give another extract from 
the chapter introductory to the subject. 

"De Boismont reminds us that considerable assem- 
blages of men (des reunions considerables) have been the 
dupes of the same illusions. 'A cry,' he says, 'suffices 
to affright a multitude. An individual who thinks he 
sees something supernatural soon causes others, as little 
enlightened as he, to share his conviction.' As to illu- 
sions, both optical and oral, this is undoubtedly true; 
more especially when these present themselves in times 
of excitement, — as during a battle or a plague, — or 
when they are generated in twilight gloom or midnight 
darkness. But that the contagion of example, or the 
belief of one individual under the actual influence of 
hallucination, suffices to produce in others around, 
disease of the retina or of the optic or auditory nerve, 
or, in short, any abnormal condition of the senses, is a 
supposition which, so far as my reading extends, is 
unsupported by any reliable proof whatever. 

"The hypothesis of hallucination, then, is, in a gen- 
eral way, untenable in cases where two or more inde- 
pendent observers perceive the same or a similar appear- 
ance." 

I consider Mr. Owen's ideas upon this subject entirely 

24 



278 THE INVISIBLES. 

erroneous. He seems to think that hallucination of 
sight or hearing can only be caused by disease of the 
organs. Of course hallucinations are frequently caused 
in that way, but that is an entirely different branch of 
the subject from the one we are considering. Whether 
in all cases of hallucination of sight or hearing, the 
optic or auditory nerves are affected at all, or not, I do not 
know; but if so, in the class of hallucinations we are 
now considering, the nerves are affected by the brain ; 
the hallucination is not produced by the nerves convey- 
ing a false sensation to the brain. In other words, the 
hallucination originates in the mind or brain, and not in 
the retina, or optic or auditory nerves. 

In dreams we imagine that we see and hear distinctly, 
but I have never heard the theory advanced, that in all, 
or even in most such cases, the optic or auditory nerve 
became first disordered, and caused the impression. 

Again, hallucinations of sight are often produced, as 
for example, in electro-biological experiments, by one 
individual speaking to the subject; telling him that a 
certain object is before him : to suppose that in such a 
case the retina or optic nerve of the subject is first af- 
fected, and afterward the imagination, would appear to 
me very absurd. 

We cannot think of an individual, even if we never 
saw him, without forming more or less distinctly in the 
mind an image of the person, and when we think of 
a particular acquaintance, the image is quite distinct. 

The question in the present case is not, whether "the 
fortuitous action of disease, freely ranging throughout 
the infinite variety of contingent possibilities, should 
produce by mere chance, a mass of coincidences such as 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 279 

make up in this case, the concurrent and cotempora- 
neous sensations of mother and daughter ;" nor is it 
whether the mind of one of the ladies could aifect the 
retina or optic nerve of the other. The question is, 
whether the mind of one could aifect the mind of the 
other. The case does not differ from those of synchro- 
nous dreams, which I have noticed, except, that where 
both persons are awake, the phenomenon is probably 
less likely to occur. 

Mr. Owen seems to believe that such an impression 
can be produced on the mind of a person of our 
world, by a "spirit." The dream narrated under the head- 
ing of ''The Negro servant" was caused, as he evidently 
believes, by a being of the other world. It is stated 
that the lady who dreamed " was astonished, on entering 
her mother's house, to meet the very black servant whom 
she had seen in her dream, as he had been engaged 
during her absence." 

Now, if the dream was produced as supposed, there 
is but one mode by which the lady could be made to see 
the servant; namely, by the "spirit" first forming the 
image in his, or her, own mind, and reproducing the 
same in the mind of the lady. 

And Mr. Owen has no grounds for assuming that the 
power of one individual of our world to produce an im- 
pression on the mind of another, is not of the same 
kind as that of beings of the other world. 

It is true that in one case the person receiving the 
impression was asleep, while in the other both ladies 
were awake. But it seems to me not unreasonable to 
suppose, that if such an impression can be produced in 
the mind of an individual asleep, it may sometimes, 



280 THE INVISIBLES. 

where the two persons are en rapport, and the mind in 
a tranquil and impressible state, be produced in an in- 
dividual awake. 

The phenomenon under consideration may, I think, 
be accounted for as follows : — The two ladies were walk- 
ing in a copse-wood, when an illusion occurred to the 
mother. Such illusions are very common under such 
circumstances with individuals not accustomed to walk- 
ing in woods. The body of a tree, a stump, or some 
other object, is mistaken for a human figure. 

The mother then thought she saw indistinctly, a hu- 
man figure, which she also thought resembled her hus- 
band ; and said to her daughter, " Sally, there comes 
your father to meet us." The two being en rapport, the 
mind of the mother, under illusion, produced a corre- 
sponding image, which would be hallucination, in the 
mind of the daughter. If the image of the father had 
been clear and distinct in the mind of the mother, the 
daughter would, probably, have also thought that she 
perceived the father. But the image in the mind of 
the mother being indistinct, that in the mind of the daugh- 
ter was so also, and the latter, from some cause 
which we do not know, thought it was not her father, 
but some other person. The probability is, that the first 
thought of the daughter, on receiving an impression 
from the mother, was of the acquaintance, Mr. Thomp- 
son, and that she named him to the mother. At all 
events, as the daughter's was a case of hallucination, we 
may assume that the image and belief was clearer and 
stronger in her mind than in the mother's, consequently 
the mind of the former reacted on that of the latter, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 281 

producing a hallucination in the mother, when the 
image became quite distinct in the minds of both. 

That this was an unusual phenomenon I admit, but 
that fact is as strong evidence against the spiritual 
theory, as it is against the theory I have advanced. 

Mr. Owen insists, "That there was an image produced 
on the retina, and that there was an objective reality 
there to produce it." 

Then the theory of the observers having a different 
faculty, or mode of perception, from that of most per- 
sons, is all nonsense. If an image is produced on- the 
retina by an objective reality, in such, cases, it is merely 
a question as to natural eye-sight. An apparition can- 
not be seen by one person which could not be seen by 
another present, having equally good natural eye-sight. 
Then why is it that "spirits" are not seen at the same 
time by a greater number of persons? Why are they 
never seen in Broadway, New York, or in the crowded 
streets of London or Paris ? 

Again, if we adopt the spiritual hypothesis in this 
case, we must believe that there were for the time being 
two distinct Thompsons; one in his room, the other 
clothed in real garments, resembling those worn by the 
" natural body" — taking a walk in the copse-wood. 

In this case we are not informed whether the "■ nat- 
ural body " was asleep or awake ; but in some of the nar- 
ratives it appears that it was awake. In the narrative en- 
titled, "Sight and Sound" which I have copied, we are led 
to infer that the lady whose appearance was seen, was 
awake. So that there are in such cases, according to the 
spiritual hypothesis, actimlly two beings, distinct both 

24* 



282 THE INVISIBLES. 

in body and mind, who, for a while have separated, and 
afterward (for what object I cannot perceive) reunite. 

Suppose that during the separation, the " natural" be- 
ing should commit some crime, would the " spiritual" 
being who is to live after the death of the former, be 
responsible for the act? 

Whether I have given a correct explanation of the 
phenomenon or not, may be a question ; but to me, the 
idea that the " spiritual body " of Mr. Thompson, 
" dressed in a blue frock-coat, black satin waistcoat, and 
black pantaloons and hat," was actually seen by the 
ladies, appears very absurd. 

" The dying mother and her babe," is a narrative some- 
what similar to that of Mr. Wilkins' dream ; but in this 
case the individual producing the impression was awake, 
the one receiving it being asleep, or in a state resem- 
bling sleep. 

A lady residing in Cambridgeshire, England, being ill, 
went to London for medical advice, leaving a child at 
home. The mother became worse, and was unable to 
return. In the mean time the child died. A young 
lady, staying in the house, who it is stated, had from in- 
fancy been accustomed to the occasional sight of appari- 
tions, went alone into the room where the body of the 
infant lay in its coffin, and saw there, reclining on a sofa 
near the coffin, the figure of the mother. 

On account of her critical condition, the mother had 
not been advised of the death of the child, but reviving 
as from a swoon, about the time of the appearance to 
the young lady, as was afterwards ascertained, she asked 
her husband why she had not been informed of the 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 283 

death, and said, " It is useless to deny it, Samuel ; for I 
have just been home, and have seen her in her little 
coffin/' 

This occurred in the year 1843, and was related to 
Mr. Owen by the lady who saw the apparition in 1859. 

In this case; I presume, the young lady who was sub- 
ject to hallucinations, having experienced the one de- 
scribed, produced a corresponding impression in the 
mind of the mother. The scene or picture, in the mind 
of the young lady, representing the mother viewing the 
infant in its coffin, was reproduced in the mind of the 
mother. It is probable, that if the mother had been 
questioned on the subject, she would have stated that 
she reclined on the sofa ; though it appears in some cases 
only the more prominent, or strongest impressions are 
reproduced. 

There is in this chapter ("Apparitions of the living,") 
a narrative of a dream. Why it is placed here, instead 
of in the chapter of dreams, is not apparent. But as Mr. 
Owen, in commenting upon it, expresses his views rela- 
tive to apparitions of the living, I will give the sub- 
stance of the narrative. 

" The Visionary excursion" In June of the year 

1857, a lady designated as Mrs. A , was residing 

with her husband and their infant child, on Woolwich 
Common, near London. 

" One night in the early part of that month, suddenly 
awaking to consciousness, she felt herself as if standing 
by the bed-side and looking upon her own body, which 
lay there by the side of her sleeping husband. 

"Her first impression was that she had died suddenly ; 



284 THE INVISIBLES. 

and the idea was confirmed by the pale and lifeless look 
of the body, the face void of expression, and the whole 
appearance showing no signs of vitality. She gazed at 
it with curiosity for some time, comparing its dead look 
with that of the fresh countenances of her husband and 
of her slumbering infant in a cradle hard by. For a 
moment she experienced a feeling of relief that she had 
escaped the pangs of death ; but the next she reflected 
what a grief her death would be to the survivors, and 
then came a wish that she could have broken the news 
to them gradually. While engaged in these thoughts, 
she felt herself carried to the wall of the room, with a 
feeling that it must arrest her farther progress. But no; 
she seemed to pass through it into the open air." 

The lady was thus carried along, without any action 
or volition on her part, past familiar objects, until she 
found herself in the bed-chamber of an intimate friend, 

Miss L M , at Greenwich; with whom she 

entered into conversation, the purport of which she did 
not afterward recollect. 

The above occurred during a Wednesday night, and 

the next Friday Miss L M visited Mrs. A , 

when the two ladies began conversing about bonnets, 

and Mrs. A said, "My last was trimmed with 

> violet; and I like the color so much I think I shall 
select it again." "Yes," her friend replied, "I know 

that is your color." "How so?" Mrs. A asked. 

"Because when you came to me the other night — let me 
see; when was it? — ah, I remember, the night before 
last — it was robed in violet that you appeared to me." 
"I appeared to you the other night?" "Yes, about 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 285 

three o'clock; and we had quite a conversation together. 
Have you no recollection of it?" 

It is stated that Miss L— — M had from her 

childhood habitually seen apparitions; the occurrence 
therefore as it appears, did not surprise her. 

The narrative was given Mr. Owen in the year 1859, 
by one of the ladies — the visitor — and confirmed by the 
other. 

Mr. Owen says, "Resembling in its general character 
the Wilkins dream, the above differs from it chiefly in 
this, that the narrator appears to have observed more 
minutely the succession of her sensations ; thus suggest- 
ing to us the idea that the apparently lifeless body 
which seemed to her to remain behind might, for the 
time, have parted with what we may call a spiritual 
portion of itself; which portion, moving off without the 
usual means of locomotion, might make itself percepti- 
ble, at a certain distance, to another person. 

"Let him who may pronounce this a fantastical 
hypothesis, absurd on its face, suggest some other suffi- 
cient to explain the phenomenon we are here exam- 
ining." 

Whether any satisfactory explanation can be given or 
not, the above hypothesis does not explain the pheno- 
menon at all, for the principal portion of the figure that 

Miss L M saw was a violet dress. The only 

spiritual portion of the body of Mrs. A that she 

could have seen, were the head and hands — a very small 
portion of the figure. 

And in this case, the dress could not have been a 

spiritual portion of the dress wdiich Mrs. A was 

wearing, for she was in bed, and would not be likely to 



286 THE INVISIBLES. 

have on a violet robe. The hypothesis of Mr. Owen, 
therefore, does not meet the case at all. It is very 
strange that spiritualists will persistently ignore the 
dress of the spirits. Mr. Owen's work contains about 
five hundred duodecimo pages, and I cannot find in it 
the slightest attempt to explain the matter of dress. 

It is not stated that Mrs. A thought she was 

robed in violet, but that appears to have been a favorite 
color of hers, and she had probably before the dream 
occurred, designed having a new bonnet trimmed with 
that color; we may therefore assume that when she 
thought herself conversing with her friend — the same 
friend to whom she soon after mentioned her preference 
for violet — she would have that color in her mind. It 

is stated that the visit of Miss L M on Friday, 

was expected before the dream occurred, and it is not 

improbable that Mrs. A had thought of telling her 

that she liked violet; if so, it increases the probability 
that she would think of the color on her imaginary 
visit. 

And observe the apparently precise coincidence of 
impressions upon one point, which would not be likely 
to occur if the visit was a real one. 

Mrs. A thought she entered into conversation 

with her friend, but could not recollect the purport; 
Miss L M also thought they had a conversa- 
tion, and we are left to infer that she could not recollect 
its purport; if she could, she would have stated what 
the conversation was about. 

There is in the chapter on "Apparitions of the living," 
one narrative which cannot be explained otherwise than 
upon the spiritual hypothesis. It was given Mr. Owen 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 287 

by the Captain Clarke who also gave him the account 
of a wonderful dream, the narrative of which is entitled, 
" The two field-mice." The following is the substance 
of the second narrative. 

"The Rescue." "Mr. Robert Bruce, originally de- 
scended from some branch of the Scottish family of 
that name, was born, in humble circumstances, abont 
the close of the last century, at Torbay, in the south of 
England, and there bred up to a seafaring life. 

" When about thirty years of age, to wit, in the year 
1828, he was first mate of a bark trading between 
Liverpool and St. John's, New Brunswick." 

On a voyage of the bark, bound westward, the cap- 
tain and mate, having taken an observation at noon, 
descended to make their calculations — the captain to the 
cabin, and the mate to his state-room, from which he 
could see into the cabin. 

The mate, having completed his calculations, spoke 
without looking at the captain, telling him what he 
made their latitude and longitude, and inquiring as to 
the captain's calculations. Receiving no answer, he 
repeated his question, glancing over his shoulder, and 
perceiving, as he thought, the captain busy writing on 
his slate. As he received no reply to his second ques- 
tion, the mate rose, when the figure he had mistaken for 
the captain raised its head and disclosed to the astonished 
mate the features of an entire stranger. 

"Bruce was no coward; but, as he met that fixed gaze 
looking directly at him in grave silence, and became 
assured that it was no one whom he had ever seen 
before, it was too much for him; and, instead of stop- 



288 THE INVISIBLES. 

ping to question the seeming intruder, he rushed upon 
deck in such evident alarm that it instantly attracted 
the captain's attention." 

On telling the captain what he had seen, Bruce was 
ordered to go down again, and see who the individual 
was; but this he refused to do unless the captain would 
accompany him. The captain therefore went down, and 
the mate followed him, but they found no one either in 
the cabin or state-rooms. On examining the slate, they 
found written on it the following words: — "Steer to the 
Nor' west." 

Every one on board the vessel, who could write at all, 
was requested to write the same words, but the hand- 
writing of none of them corresponded with that on the 
slate. The vessel was then searched, but no stranger 
found. Finally the captain decided to change his 
course to the north-west. After steering in that direc- 
tion several hours, they discovered a vessel, with pas- 
sengers on board, which had become entangled in a field 
of ice, and wrecked. 

When the passengers were brought on board the bark, 
Bruce recognized one of them as being the person he 
had seen writing on the captain's slate. This individual 
was asked to write on the opposite side of the slate from 
that on which the mysterious writing was, the same 
words, namely, "Steer to the Nor' west," which he did; 
and the hand-writing so precisely resembled the other, — 
the mysterious writing — that when he was shown the 
latter, he supposed it was what he had just written. 

On being told what the mate had witnessed, the 
captain of the wrecked vessel stated, that about noon 
the passenger fell into a heavy sleep, and on awaking 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 289 

said that they would be relieved that day, giving as his 
reason for the prediction, that he had dreamed of being 
on board a bark which was coming to their rescue, and 
he described the appearance of the bark, which descrip- 
tion corresponded exactly with the bark that rescued 
them. The passenger said that he had no recollection 
of dreaming that he wrote on the slate, but that every- 
thing on board the bark seemed familiar to him. 

The hallucination hypothesis will not answer here, as 
it is stated there was actual writing on the slate. The 
question then is, as to the authenticity of the narrative. 

Mr. Owen says it was communicated to him by Capt. 
J. S. Clarke, of the schooner Julia Hallock,^then 
lying at the foot of Rutgers Slip, Xew York — in July, 
1859. The narrative of the dream was given him at 
the same date. 

How Mr. Owen happened to learn that Captain 
Clarke was, or pretended to be, in possession of these 
facts, he does not inform us; nor does it appear that he 
made any inquiry as to the character for veracity of the 
captain. If Mr. Owen had continued his inquiries 
along the New York docks, he could, I have no doubt, 
have obtained, of equally wonderful narratives, enough 
to fill another volume. 

This narrative — one of the most wonderful in the 
volume — could be, if true, easily verified; for a large 
number of persons — the owners of the two vessels, those 
on board of them, their friends, and others — must have 
known of the occurrence, which was one not likely to 
be forgotten. 

But Captain Clarke has not given the slightest clew 
by which the matter might be investigated. He stated 

25 



290 THE INVISIBLES. 

that he was in the same ship with Bruce for seventeen 
months, and that they were as intimate as brothers; he 
told all about Bruce's birth and descent, where the bark 
was from, and where bound to; but gave the name of 
neither vessel, nor of either captain; and said he did 
not know what had become of Bruce. 

If Captain Clarke sailed seventeen months with 
Bruce, and was as intimate with him as stated, he un- 
doubtedly heard the name of every vessel in which 
Bruce had sailed. At all events, it is vefy improbable 
that Clarke was told so marvelous a story, and did not 
learn the names of the vessels. 

The story in my opinion, is not entitled to the slight- 
est credit ; and this being the case, we may assume that 
the story of the dream was a fiction also. 

As "apparitions of the living," are of the same char- 
acter as " apparitions of the dead," I will only notice, 
in the chapter on the latter subject, two well authen- 
ticated instances of apparitions, which were produced as 
I think, by beings of the other world ; and also such 
narratives as I am unable to explain. 

" The stains of blood." In the year 185 — , a gentle- 
man visited, remaining one night at, a residence where 
his sister was then staying. As I infer, the gentleman 
had never before been in the house, having but recently 
made the acquaintance of the occupants. 

Awaking in the night, the gentleman noticed there 
was a light in the room. He next perceived a female 
figure, but the features were not perceptible. He now 
observed that the light by which he saw the figure em- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 291 

anated from itself. After moving a little distance, the 
figure suddenly disappeared. 

In the morning the gentleman told his sister what 
had occurred ; and the sister then informed him that a 
lady had been murdered some years previous in the 
house, but not in the room in which he slept. 

The gentleman left without having any further con- 
versation upon the subject; but shortly afterward he 
received a letter from his sister, in which she informed 
him that since he left, she had ascertained that the mur- 
der was committed in the room in which he had slept. 
She added, that she purposed visiting him the next day, 
and requested him to write out an account of what he 
had seen, and draw a plan of the room, marking on the 
plan the place of the appearance, and disappearance of 
the figure. 

This the gentleman did ; and when his sister arrived 
— before seeing his account or plan — she informed him, 
that she had had the carpet taken up in the room he had 
occupied, and that marks of blood were plainly visible 
on a particular part of the floor. 

The sister then drew a plan of the room, marking on 
it the spots which still bore traces of blood, and on com- 
paring the two plans, the places marked on one, as ex- 
hibiting traces of blood, coincided exactly with those 
marked on the other, as being the spots where the figure 
had appeared and disappeared. 

This was communicated to Mr. Owen, in the year 
1859, by a clergyman of the Church of England, who 
was a brother of the gentleman that saw the figure, and 
who received the account from the latter. 

If the narrative gives all the facts bearing upon the 



292 THE INVISIBLES. 

case, this could not have been an accidental hallucina- 
tion, nor could the apparition have been caused by the 
mind of any one of our world. It was, I conclude, 
what I have called an impressional apparition, produced 
either by the murdered lady, or some one of the other 
world cognizant of the murder. 

The light was a hallucination like the rest. I have 
seen something similar myself. I recollect seeing, I 
think some time in the fall or winter of 1863, while 
lying in bed, what appeared to be a marble statue of a 
female, draped as statues usually are. It was standing 
a few feet distant from the foot of the bed, and at first 
was somewhat indistinct; but while I was looking at it, 
it became suddenly brilliantly illuminated, and as sud- 
denly disappeared altogether. The features, when illu- 
minated, were distinctly visible, but I did not recognize 
them as being the likeness of any individual, or of any 
statue that I had ever seen. Although fully awake, my 
eyes were closed, (if I had opened them, the appearance 
would have vanished), and therefore, whether a natural 
hallucination, or one caused by a being of the other 
wcrld, the light could not have been real. 

The following narrative appears to be authenticated 
beyond all question. I recollect reading not long after 
the date of the occurrences, an article upon the subject, 
written by an Englishman, in which it appeared that 
there was no question as to the main facts, but the po- 
sition was taken that the coincidences might have been 
accidental, and that the facts were not sufficient to prove 
that there w T as any spiritual agency in the matter. At 
least such is my recollection as to the substance of the 
article. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 293 

" The fourteenth of November. In the month of 

September, 1857, Captain G W , of the Sixth 

(Inniskilling) Dragoons, went out to India, to join his 
regiment. 

" His wife remained in England, residing at Cam- 
bridge. On the night between the 14th and 15th of 
November, 1857, toward morning, she dreamed that she 
saw her husband looking anxious and ill, upon which 
she immediately awoke, much agitated. It was bright 
moonlight; and looking up, she perceived the same 
figure standing by her bed-side. He appeared in his uni- 
form, the hands pressed across the breast, the hair dis- 
heveled, the face very pale. After remaining visible 
about a minute, the figure disappeared. 

" Next morning she related all this to her mother, 
expressing her conviction, though she had noticed no 

marks of blood on his dress, that Captain W was 

either killed or grievously wounded. So fully impressed 
was she with the reality "of that apparition, that she 
thenceforth refused all invitations. A young friend 
urged her soon afterward, to go with her to a fashionable 
concert, reminding her that she had received from 
Malta, sent by her husband, a Jiandsome dress-cloak, 
which she had never yet worn. But she positively de- 
clined, declaring that, uncertain as she was whether she 
was not already a widow, she would never enter a place 
of amusement until she had letters from her husband, 
(if indeed, he still lived) of later date than the 14th of 
November." 

Some time in the succeeding month (December) a 
telegram was published in London to the effect that 
Captain W was killed before Lucknow, on the 15th 

25 * 



294 THE INVISIBLES. 

of November, and official intelligence was afterward re- 
ceived at the War Office, to the same effect. 

Mr. Wilkinson, a London solicitor, who had in charge 

Captain W *s affairs, seeing the telegram, called on 

Mrs. W , and was then informed by her of the ap- 
parition, and that it appeared during the night be- 
teen the 14th and 15th of November. 

Mr. Wilkinson was afterward visiting a friend, called 

Mr. N , " whose lady has all her life had perception 

of apparitions, while her husband is what is usually 
called an impressible medium." 

" Mr. Wilkinson related to them, as a wonderful cir- 
cumstance ; the vision of the Captain's widow in con- 
nection with his death, and described the figure as it had 

appeared to her. Mrs. N , turning to her husband, 

instantly said, ' That must be the very person I saw, the 
evening we were talking of India, and you drew an 
elephant with a howdah on his back. Mr. Wilkinson 
has described his exact position and appearance; the 
uniform of a British officer, his hands pressed across his 
breast, his form bent forward as if in pain. The figure, 
she added, to Mr. W , appeared just behind my hus- 
band, and seemed looking over his left shoulder.' 

"'Did you attempt to obtain any communication from 
him ?' Mr. Wilkinson asked. 

" • Yes : we procured one through the medium of my 
husband.' 

" ' Do you remember its purport ?' 

" ' It was to the effect that he had been killed in In- 
dia that afternoon, by a wound in the breast ; and add- 
ing, as I distinctly remember, " That thing I used to 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 295 

go about in is not buried yet." I particularly marked 
the expression.' " 

This occurred, as was found by looking at a bill 
which had been paid the same evening, on the 14th of 
November. 

In the month of March, 1858, the family of Captain 

W received a letter from India, informing them 

that Captain W had been killed in the afternoon 

of the 14th of November; having been struck in the 
breast by a fragment of shell. 

The War Office, more than a year after the event oc- 
curred, made the correction as to the date of the death, 
altering it from the 15th to the 14th of November. 

" This extraordinary narrative," Mr. Owen says, 
"was obtained by me directly from the parties them- 
selves. The widow of Captain W kindly consented 

to examine and correct the manuscript, and allowed me 

to inspect a copy of Captain C 's letter, giving the 

particulars of her husband's death. To Mr. Wilkinson 
also, the manuscript was submitted, and he assented to 
its accuracy so far as he is concerned. That portion 
which relates to Mrs. N , I had from that lady her- 
self. I have neglected no precaution, therefore, to obtain 
for it the warrant of authenticity." 

Although the inhabitants of our world are not so. 
constantly attended by their friends of the other as some 
persons seem to imagine, still they are sometimes thus 
accompanied ; and more often, we may suppose, when 
dangerously exposed, than when they are not. 

I presume then, that some friend of Captain W , 

of the other world, was with him when he was killed, 
and conveyed the intimation of his death to Mrs. 



296 THE INVISIBLES. 

W , by the only mode in his power. Producing 

first the impression when she was asleep, he (or she) was 
able to continue it after she awoke. 

That portion of the narrative relating to Mr. and 
Mrs. N , is, in my opinion, of no importance what- 
ever. The portion of the communication to Mr. N 

which is given — namely, "That thing I used to go 
about in is not buried yet," indicates that it was from 
one of the same low class of beings that communicate 

through other mediums. Captain W would be no 

more likely to make use of such an expression after his 

death than before. Besides, if Captain W had 

been present, and able to communicate, he would of 
course have given his name, and would probably have 
given a message to Mrs. W . 

All that the appearance and communication to Mr. 

and Mrs. N can possibly demonstrate is, that the 

beings en rapport with them, had learned in some way, 
that a battle had occurred in India that day. If they 
had learned the name of any English officer killed, they 
would undoubtedly have given it. 

This case, and other similar ones, confirm the state- 
ment, that none but a certain class of the other world 
have hitherto been able to communicate through medi- 
ums; and that others are unwilling to entrust messages 
to this class. 

If the friend of Captain W could have himself 

communicated through any medium, or had been will- 
ing to give any particulars to such as could do so, it is 
not probable that he would have contented himself with 
merely producing an apparition ; a message would have 
been sent to Mrs. W- . 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 297 

The following narrative, in the chapter on "appari- 
tions of the dead," I am unable to explain. 

" The Nobleman and his servant. The late Lord 

M , having gone to the Highlands about the end of 

the last century, left his wife perfectly well in London. 
The night of his arrival at his Highland home, he was 
awakened by seeing a bright light in his room. The 
curtains of his bed opened, and he saw the appearance 
of Lady M standing there. He rang for his ser- 
vant, and inquired of him what he saw; upon which the 

man exclaimed, in terror, 'It's my lady!' Lady M 

had died suddenly in London that night. The story 
made a great noise at the time; and George the Third, 

sending for Lord M and ascertaining from him the 

truth of it, desired him to write out the circumstances 
as they happened; and the servant countersigned the 
statement. 

"About a year afterward, a child five years old, the 

youngest, daughter of Lord M , rushed breathlessly 

into the nursery, exclaiming, 'I have seen mamma 
standing at the top of the stair and beckoning to me.' 

That night the child, little Annabella M , was taken 

ill, and died." 

The above account Mr. Owen received from a mem- 
ber of Lord M 's family. 

I have no doubt that it is mainly correct, but Mr. 
Owen received it at second hand, and a long time 
after the occurrences took place. It would not be 
strange, therefore, if there were some slight inaccuracies. 

As I understand the narrative, the curtains of the 
bed were opened without the agency of Lord M . 



298 THE INVISIBLES. 

This could be done by, what T have called, an artificial 
apparition, but these are not so speedily created. 

Besides, it does not appear that the servant saw any- 
thing until asked by Lord M what he saw; nor did 

he then express any astonishment at the unnatural light 
in the room. 

Now, as Lord M was in bed, the first things that 

the servant would have noticed on entering the room, 
if the appearances were real, were the light and Lady 

M ; and he would hardly have been so self-possessed, 

as to manifest no fright or astonishment, until questioned 
by Lord M . 

I conclude it was an impressional apparition, the 
account of which is not precisely accurate. 

It is not necessary that I should review the chapter 
on "Retribution" which is designed to show that beings 
of the other world sometimes, punish or annoy persons 
of our world, who have injured them while living 
here. * 

As they frequently persecute those who have done 
them no injury, there is no reason to doubt that they 
sometimes annoy those who have, and I presume the 
only reason this is hot oftener done is, the lack of 
ability. 

I will therefore pass to the final chapter of narratives, 
which is on the subject of " 'Guardianship ." 

In opening the chapter, Mr. Owen says, "A pleas- 
anter task remains ; to speak, namely, of the indica- 
tions that reach us of ultramundane aid and spiritual 
protection." 

With the idea advanced in the above paragraph my 



REVIEW OP OTHER NARRATIVES. 299 

own belief fully coincides. One of the most remark- 
able instances of protection in the volume, is given in 
the narrative which I have copied, entitled "The Negro 
Servant," in which it is stated that a murder was pre- 
vented by a dream; and I wonder that Mr. Owen did 
not place that narrative in this chapter, instead of some 
which I find here. 

I do not believe, however, that any desirable guar- 
dianship is ever exercised by that class of beings of the 
other world, who are able to rap, move furniture, or 
make any similar disturbances in our world. I will 
first notice the narratives embracing this class of pheno- 
mena, of which there are but two in the chapter. 

The first is entitled, "Gasper," and was communicated 
to Mr. Owen by Mr. S. C. Hall, of England. 

Why this narrative is placed in the chapter on 
Guardianship, it is difficult for me to perceive. If 
the chapter was on Deviltry, the narrative would be 
appropriate. 

It is too lengthy to copy, but the following is the 
substance. 

About the year 1820, an English family were residing 
in France. One evening the father saw in front of the 
door, what he called, a ghost, and that night noises and 
disturbances were commenced in the house, similar to 
those related in the chapter on Hauntings. 

After these annoyances had continued for several 
weeks, the family, as stated, became able to hear the 
spirit speak; but he refused to give any account of him- 
self, except that his name was Gasper, or why he had 
annoyed them, or, in short, why he stayed there. I 
infer that when he became able to communicate with 



300 THE INVISIBLES. 

the family, the annoyances — as usual in such cases — 
ceased. He remained with the family for more than 
three years, continually giving advice, "and always for 
good." 

Shortly after the family returned to England, Gasper 
left them, assigning as a reason for doing so, that harm 
would come to them if he remained with them in 
England. 

While they were in France, "On one occasion my 
father was extremely desirous to recover some valuable 
papers which he feared might have been lost. Gasper 
told him exactly where they were, in our old house in 
Suffolk; and there, sure enough, in the very place he 
designated, they were found." 

That is all there is in the narrative going to show 
that Gasper was a "guardian spirit." He was always 
giving good advice, and told the father where he had 
left certain papers — which fact he unquestionably learned 
from the father. 

Gasper commenced and continued his annoyances, as 
all other "spirits" of his class do, out of pure deviltry, for 
it appears that he had nothing to communicate when 
able to converse. 

What the good advice was, we are not informed; 
but they* will all give good advice, that is, they will 
give such advice as they think will be acceptable — 
anything to continue the intercourse. But what would 
be thought of a person of our world, who should in- 
trude himself into a family, commence making noises 
and disturbances in the house, continue these for several 
weeks, until the family consented to hold intercourse 
with him; then refuse to give any account of himself, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. - 301 

or explain his conduct, but simply give good advice? 
Would he be considered a desirable guardian? 

As the language used by Gasper was French, and he 
first met the family in France, the probability is that he 
was a native of that country, and that a desire to return 
there, was his motive for leaving the family when they 
returned to England. 

It is stated in the narrative that, "Every member of 
the family, including the servants, had heard the voice." 

The narrative was given to Mr. Hall by a member of 
the family — one of the daughters — in the year 1859, — 
about thirty-nine years after the occurrences took place, 
and the lady must have been at the time quite young. 
It is not to be expected, therefore, that the account 
should be strictly accurate. It appears to me very evi- 
dent, that if all the family — five in number — and the 
servants, could hear the "spirit" talk, then any one could 
hear him; and consequently, any one could hear other 
"spirits." 

In another well -authenticated narrative, entitled "The 
old Kent Manor- House," it is stated that, "every inmate 
of the house had been more or less disturbed at night — 
not usually during the day — by knockings and sounds 
as of footsteps, but more especially by voices which 
could not be accounted for. These last were usually 
heard in some unoccupied adjoining room; sometimes as 
if talking in a loud tone, sometimes as if reading aloud, 
occasionally as if screaming." Yet it appears that the 
only person in the house that ever understood anything 

spoken by the "spirits," was a visitor called Miss S ; 

who, it is stated, " had been in the habit of seeing appa- 
ritions, at times, from early childhood." 

26 



302 THE INVISIBLES. 

Miss S was probably an impressible medium; the 

others heard noises which they mistook for voices in an 
adjoining room. 

So Gasper was probably able to converse with one 
or two members of the family, and the others mistook 
noises resembling voices at a distance, for the voice of 
Gasper. 

The other narrative is entitled, " The Rejected Suitor" 

Mr. and Mrs. W resided in England, not far 

from London. A short time previous to the date of the 
following occurrences, an aged, gentleman, who had re- 
sided with them about four years, died. 

Mrs. W had been to some extent interested in 

the subject of spiritualism, and had on one or two oc- 
casions, held her hand, as writing mediums do, to see if 
the "spirits" would write with it; and, "a few unintel- 
ligible figures or unimportant words" written, were the 
result. 

She went one morning into the garden, feeling much 
depressed on account of her aged friend's death ; and 
had been there but a few minutes, when she felt a strong 
impulse to return to the house and write. ^ 

"The impulse to write gradually increased, and at- 
tended with a nervous and uneasy sensation in the right 
arm, became so strong that she yielded to it ; and, re- 
turning to the house and picking up a sheet of note- 
paper and a small portfolio, she sat down on the steps 
of the front door, put the portfolio on her knee, with 
the sheet of note-paper across it, and placed her hand 
with a pencil, at the upper left-hand corner, as one usu- 
ally begins to write. After a time the hand was gradu- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 303 

ally drawn to the lower right-hand corner, and began to 
write backward ; completing the first line near the left- 
hand edge of the sheet, then commencing a second line, 
and finally a third, both on the right, and completing 
the writing near to where she had first put down her 
pencil. Not only was the last letter in the sentence writ- 
ten first, and so on until the commencing letter was 
written last, but each separate letter was written back- 
ward, or inversely ; the pencil going over the lines which 
composed each letter from right to left. 

" Mrs. W stated to me that (as may well be con- 
ceived) she had not the slightest perception of what her 
hand was writing; no idea passing through her mind 
at the time. When her hand stopped, she read the sen- 
tence as she would have read what any other person had 
written for her. The hand-writing was cramped and 
awkward, but, as the fac-simile will show,* legible 
enough. 

" The sentence read thus : — ' Ye are sorrowing as one 
vnihout hope. Cast thy burden upon God, and he ivill 
help thee.' " 

Mrs. W much astonished, placed her pencil at 

the foot of the paper, that the " spirit" might subscribe 
its name — expecting that the name of her aged friend 
would be written. 

"The event, however, wholly belied her expectation. 
The pencil, again drawn nearly to the right-hand edge 
of the paper, wrote backward as before, not the expected 
name, but the initials K,. G. D." 

These were the initials of a gentleman, who, eighteen 

* Fac-similes of the above, and a sentence written afterward, are 
given in Mr. Owen's work. 



-304 THE INVISIBLES. 

years before had sought her in marriage, but whom she 
had rejected • and the gentleman had died about six 
years previous, a bachelor. 

" This occurred on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 
1, 1859. A* little more than a month afterward, to wit, 
on Monday, April 4, about four o'clock in the afternoon, 

while Mrs. W was sitting in her parlor reading, 

she suddenly heard, apparently coming from a small 
side-table near her, three distinct raps. She listened ; 
and again there came the same sounds. Still uncertain 
whether it might not be some accidental knocking, she 
said, ' If it be a spirit who announces himself, will he 
repeat the sound?' Whereupon the sounds were in- 
stantly and still more distinctly repeated ; and Mrs. W. 
became assured that they proceeded from the side-table. 

" She then said, ' If I take pencil and paper, can I 
be informed who it is ?' Immediately there were three 
raps, as of assent ; and when she sat down to write, her 
hand, writing backward, formed the same initials as be- 
fore — E. G. D. 

" Then she questioned, ' For what purpose were these 
sounds?' To which the reply, again written backward, 
was, ' To show you that we are thinking and working for 
you.' " 

Ten days after the last incident, Mrs. W. happening 
to recollect that R. G. D. had once given her a beau- 
tiful black Newfoundland dog, thought she would like 
to have such an animal then, and said to a servant who 
happened to be near, " I wish I had a fine large New- 
foundland for a walking companion." 

The next morning a gentleman from a neighboring 
town, whom Mrs. W. did not remember to have ever 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. . 305 

seen before, brought and presented to her a noble black 
Newfoundland dog ; giving as his reason for doing so, 
,that he did not intend for the future to keep dogs, and 
because he felt assured that in Mrs. W. the dog would 
find a kind mistress. 

Mrs. W. stated, that she had ascertained to an abso- 
lue certainty, that the girl to whom she had spoken on 
the matter, had not mentioned to any one her wish to 
have a dog. 

The foregoing is all there is of the narrative; which 
Mr. Owen received from Mrs. W. a few days after the 
occurrence of the last incident. 

The result then of the "thinking and working" of 
the "spirits" for about a month and a half, was the gift 
of a Newfoundland dog; that is, supposing this presen- 
tation to have been brought about by them. People of 
our world can employ their time to better advantage. 

In reference to the ungrammatical construction of the 
sentence, " Ye are sorroiving as one" — etc., Mr. Owen 
says, "If I am asked whence this error in the grammat- 
ical construction of the sentence, I reply that I can no 
more account for it than I can for the writing itself. 
No one could write more correctly or grammatically than 
does Mrs. W. It was not through her, therefore, as in 
the case of an illiterate scribe we might have imagined 
it, that the error occurred. Its occurrence is additional 
proof that her mind had no agency in the matter; 
though it would probably be stretching conjecture too 
far to imagine that it was so intended." 

It is rather strange that he is unable to account for 
the error. If he received such a message in writing, 
purporting to be subscribed by an educated person of 

26* 



306 THE INVISIBLES. 

our world, Mr. Owen would at once decide that it was a 
forgery. 

If Mrs. W. was well educated, we may reasonably 
infer that her former suitor had at least a common edu- 
cation, and that therefore the sentence was not written 
by him. Mrs. W. had previously been investigating 
spiritualism, had held her hand for the purpose of letting 
the "spirits" write with it, and, like all other mediums, 
had some low being attached to her, who had in some 
way — probably from her mind — learned the name of her 
late suitor. Mrs. W. assured Mr. Owen that she could 
not recollect having thought of the gentleman for several 
years previous; but it would be very strange if she had 
not; and a name very familiar is frequently thought of 
without producing any very decided impression; so that 
afterward we have no recollection of having thought 
of it. 

Although Mr. Owen has doubts as to the cause of the 
error in the grammatical construction of the sentence, 
he has none whatever as to the object of the " spirit" in 
writing backward. He says : — 

" Whence, again, the writing backward ? In that the 
will had no agency. As little had expectation. Mrs. W. 
in her normal state, had not the power so to write. By 
diligent practice she might, doubtless, have acquired it. 
But she had no such practice. She had not acquired it. 
And, not having acquired it, it was as much a physical 
impossibility for her, of herself, so to write, as for a man, 
picking up a violin for the first time, to execute thereon, 
at sight, some elaborate passage from Handel or Bee- 
thoven. 

" Again, whence the intention to write after so unex- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 307 

ampled and impracticable a manner? Where there is 
an intention there must be an intelligence. It was not 
Mrs. W. who intended ; for the result struck her with 
awe, — almost with consternation. It was not her intel- 
ligence, therefore, that acted. What intelligence was it? 

" Nor can we reasonably doubt what the intention 
was. Had Mrs. W.'s hand written forward, she would, 
in all probability, have remained in uncertainty whether, 
half unconsciously perhaps, the words were not of her 
own dictation. The expedient of the backward writing 
precluded any such supposition ; for she could not of 
herself do unconsciously a thing which she could not do 
at all. And this expedient seems to have been ingeni- 
ously devised to cut off any supposition of the kind. 
Then here we have the invention of an expedient, the 
display of ingenuity. But who is the inventor ? Who 
displays the ingenuity ? I confess my inability to an- 
swer these questions." 

There was no ingenuity of the kind exercised. The 
" spirit" wrote backward, or from right to left, simply 
because it was easier for him to do so, than to write from 
left to right. It is no unusual thing, especially in the 
first attempts to use a person's hand, for the writing to 
be executed backward. My own hand was at first more 
readily moved from right to left, than in the reverse 
direction. 

With Mr. Conklin, whom I have mentioned in my 
narrative, the writing is always from right to left; but 
it differs from that of Mrs. W. in that with him, the 
sentence is commenced at the right, that is, the beginning 
of the sentence is at the upper right-hand corner of the 
paper, and the paper must be reversed, and held towards 



308 THE INVISIBLES. 

the light so that the writing will show through, in order 
to read it readily, or from left to right, as usual.* 

I have stated that the writing was effected by the will 
of the individual of the other world influencing our own. 
But the control thus indirectly acquired of our hands, 
is slight, compared with the control possessed by our- 
selves. 

We have more power to move our right arm towards 
the left, and our left towards the right, than we have to 
move them in the opposite directions. In movements 
requiring so slight an effort of the will as writing, the 
difference is, to us, not apparent ; but every one has 
noticed the great difference in striking a blow with the 
fist, or in any violent effort of the kind. 

Now this difference in power, which to us in ordinary 
movements of the arm is not perceptible, is to those of 
the other world attempting to control it, very material ; 
hence they sometimes write backward, or from right to 
left. 

We have then, given us by Mr. Owen as instances of 
guardianship, by such of the other world as are able to 
rap, or make noises of any kind, the narrative of Gas- 
per, who disturbed a family for some time, and after- 
ward gave good advice, and of the illiterate creature 
who is supposed to have brought about the gift to Mrs. 

W , of a Newfoundland dog. ,, For my part, I 

would prefer being free from such guardianship. 

The following narrative I have previously read in a 
work by the Rev. Dr. Bushnell, entitled, "Nature and 

* This fact is pretty good evidence that the writing is always done 
by the same being. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 809 

the Supernatural," from which Mr. Owen has taken it, 
and prefixed to it the title of "Help amid the Snow- 
drifts:' 

"As I sat by the fire one stormy November night, in 
a hotel-parlor, in the Napa Valley of California, there 
came in a most venerable and benignant-looking person, 
with his wife, taking their seats in the circle. The 
stranger, as I afterward learned, was Captain Yount, a 
man who came over into California, as a trapper, more 
than forty years ago. Here he has lived, apart from 
the great world and its questions, acquiring an immense 
landed estate, and becoming a kind of acknowledged 
patriarch in the country. His tall, manly person, and 
his gracious paternal look, as totally unsophisticated in 
the expression as if he had never heard of a philosophic 
doubt or question in his life, marked him as the true 
patriarch. The conversation turned, I know not how, 
on spiritism and the modern necromancy; and he dis- 
covered a degree of inclination to believe in the reported 
mysteries. His wife, a much younger and apparently 
Christian person, intimated that probably he was predis- 
posed to this kind of faith by a very peculiar experience 
of his own, and evidently desired that he might be 
drawn out by some intelligent discussion of his queries. 

"At my request, he gave me his story. About six or 
seven years previous, in a mid-winter's night, he had a 
dream in which he saw what appeared to be a company 
of emigrants arrested by the snows of the mountains 
and perishing rapidly by cold and hunger. He noted 
the very cast of the scenery, marked by a huge perpen- 
dicular front of white rock cliff; he saw the men cutting 
off what appeared to be tree-tops rising out of deep 



310 THE INVISIBLES. 

gulfs of snow; he distinguished the very features of the 
persons and the look of their particular distress. He 
woke profoundly impressed with the distinctness and 
apparent reality of his dream. At length he fell asleep 
and dreamed exactly the same dream again. In the 
morning he could not expel it from his mind. Falling 
in, shortly, with an old hunter comrade, he told him 
the story, and was only the more deeply impressed by 
his recognizing without hesitation, the scenery of the 
dream. This comrade had come over the Sierra by the 
Carson Valley Pass, and declared that a spot in the pass 
answered exactly to his description. By this the unso- 
phisticated patriarch was decided. He immediately 
collected a company of men with mules and blankets 
and all necessary provisions. The neighbors were 
laughing, meantime, at his credulity. 'No matter,' said 
he, 'I am able to do this, and I will; for I verily believe 
that the fact is according to my dream.' The men were 
sent into the mountains, one hundred and fifty miles 
distant, directly to the Carson Valley Pass. And there 
they found the company in exactly the condition of the 
dream, and brought in the remnant alive. 

" Dr. Bushnell adds, that a gentleman present said to 
him, 'You need have no doubt of this; for we Califor- 
nians all know the facts, and the names of the families 
brought in, who now look upon our venerable friend as 
a kind of Saviour.' These names he gave, together 
with the residences of each ; and Dr. Bushnell avers that 
he found the Californians everywhere ready to second 
the old man's testimony. 'Nothing could be more 
natural,' continues the doctor, ' than for the good-hearted 
patriarch himself to add that the brightest thing in his 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 311 

life, and that which gave him the greatest joy, was his 
simple faith in that dream.'" 

This dream could not have been caused by the mind 
of an individual of our world acting on that of the 
dreamer, for it appears that the party of emigrants were 
all entire strangers to Captain Yount. Neither is it a 
rational hypothesis that the dream occurred by chance. 
It would not be at all strange, nor a coincidence requir- 
ing any explanation, had Captain Yount simply dreamed, 
in a winter's night, of people perishing in the snows, 
and it was afterward learned that some had thus perished 
during the winter. But that the precise spot where the 
party were perishing — a locality which he had never 
seen, and the scenery of which was peculiar — should be 
minutely and accurately pictured in the dreamer's mind 
by mere chance, is an incredible hypothesis. Yet the 
authenticity of this narrative cannot be questioned. 

The dream in this case then, must have been pro- 
duced by a being of the other world. How long pre- 
vious to the dream, one of the party had died, we are 
not informed. Unless such an event had occurred some 
time previous, we must suppose the party of emigrants 
were watched during their journey by friends, or a 
friend of some one of them of the other world, who, not 
being of the class able to " rap," or make noises, took 
the only course he could take to relieve them, and at 
length, after a considerable time, as I infer, found a per- 
son of our world, upon whose mind he could produce 
an impression when asleep. 

It was such a vision as could be produced by one of 
the other world, showing nothing more than what he 
might have in his own mind at any one moment; dif- 



312 THE INVISIBLES. 

fering greatly in this respect from the dreams, or narra- 
tives of dreams, relative to which I have stated my 
doubts as to the authenticity. 

It is a peculiarity of dreams produced by beings of 
the other world, especially when the motive is urgent, 
that they are repeated. Captain Yount's occurred twice; 
in the narrative entitled, " The negro servant," it is 
stated that the dream of the lady " occurred more than 
once ;" this is not usual in ordinary dreams. 

Now the class of " spirits" able to " rap" and " tip" 
out communications, have been doing so, almost daily, 
for the past fifteen years, or more, and during all this 
time they have not done as much good as was effected 
by this dream. In fact I have been unable to learn that 
they have ever done any good whatever. Yet, if this 
dream was produced as I have supposed, it is evident 
that those able to rap, or to write, might do much good 
in our world, if so disposed. 

In the work of Mr. Owen there are about sixty nar- 
ratives which he considers well authenticated, and which 
he thinks indicate spiritual agency. Of these I have 
. specified six as conflicting more or less with the theories 
I have given. This is not a greater proportion, I think, 
than we might expect would be somewhat inaccurate. 

The six thus specified are, a narrative of Mr. Talbot, 
giving an account of a dream which occurred to his fa- 
ther seventy-four years previous; two other narratives 
of dreams, one by a Captain Norway, the other by Cap- 
tain Clarke; another narrative by the latter individual; 
one by Mademoiselle de Guldenstubbe', who gave an- 
other, afterward found to be incorrect ; and a narrative 
entitled, " The nobleman and his servant," narrating 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 313 

very briefly occurrences which took place in the last 
century, by a person who did not witness them. 

There is not a narrative in the volume, as well at- 
tested, for example, as the last one copied, which con- 
flicts with the explanations of the phenomena which I 
have given. 

In Mr. Owen's work there are no instances of artificial 
apparitions, unless those described in the two narratives 
entitled, " Louise," and, " Apparition of a Stranger" 
were of this class. 

In the former narrative, it is stated that a femme-de- 
chambre was frightened into convulsions by the appa- 
rition. 

It would seem hardly possible that even a female 
could be thus frightened by a hallucination ; and as 
noises had been for some time heard in the house — had 
in fact followed the family from a house previously 
occupied — indicating that some member of the house- 
hold was a medium through whom material of the other 
world could be changed, as described, it is not impossible 
that an artificial apparition was created ; but the narra- 
tive given b}^ a lady, is so vague that it is impossible to 
decide upon this point. 

The other narrative, " Apparition of a Stranger," was 
given Mr. Owen by the Baron de Guldeustubbe', a bro- 
ther of the Mademoiselle de Guldenstubbe" before named. 
The apparition seen by the Baron, if correctly described, 
must have been an artificial one. But the story does not 
strike me as being strictly accurate. He states that " he 
experienced little or no alarm, being chiefly occupied 
during the period of its stay in seeking to ascertain 
whether it was a mere hallucination or an objective re- 

27 



314 THE INVISIBLES. 

ality ;" also, that it was accompanied by light sufficiently 
brilliant to enable him "to distinguish small print, as 
he ascertained by picking up a Bible that lay on his 
dressing-table, and reading from it a verse or two." 

Now, as the Baron observed the phenomenon with 
such surprising calmness, and was chiefly occupied in 
seeking to ascertain whether it was an objective reality 
or not, it is strange — as it is stated that the figure ap- 
proached quite close to him several times — that he made 
no attempt to touch it, which would at once have satis- 
fied him on the above point. 

Again it is stated that the same apparition had been 
seen by others in the house before the Baron came there. 
Of course these might have been hallucinations, and the 
Baron have seen a real figure; but, upon the whole, I 
have not sufficient faith in the narrative to cite it as an 
instance of an artificial apparition. 

I will therefore take from another work examples of 
this very rare phenomenon. 

In the London "Spiritual Magazine" I find the cor- 
respondence of a gentleman called Mr. L- , who it is 

stated, is a member of a prominent banking-house in 
New York,* — giving his observations of such appa- 
ritions. 

The correspondence appears to have been carried on 
for several years. When it commenced, or when Mr. 

L- commenced his investigations, I do not know, as 

I have examined but a few numbers of the Magazine. 
I find it stated in a letter dated, "New York, March, 

* If the name given me by one of the other world is the right one, 
— and I have grounds for believing it is — the gentleman is well known 
in New York, though I am not myself acquainted with him. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 315 

17th, 1862," that success in producing the apparition, 
u only crowned months of patient watching" from which 
it is evident that the apparition was of a different nature 
from most of those described in the work of Mr. Owen. 

I have before me only the volume for the year 1862, 
-and the number for January, 1866, and must therefore 
confine my extracts to these. First, to show the charac- 
ter of these beings, I will give a few extracts from the 
volume. Most of the articles published, are simply 

extracts from the diary of Mr. L . The " medium" 

for communications, as well as for the production of 
apparitions, was Miss Fox. 

The following "test" was, as represented, from Dr. 
Franklin ;— "Sunday Evening, Jan. 19th, 1862,— A Test. 
The following was written upon a card : ' My son, I see 
you have a desire to hear about the country. A Battle 
is in the field and will soon be victorious. — B. F.' The 
battle of Somerset, or Mill Spring, in Kentucky, result- 
ing in a decided Union victory and rebel defeat, and in 
the death of their general Zollikoffer, took place on 
Sunday, Jan. 19th, ending Monday morning, Jan. 20th. 
The news by telegram did not reach New York, until 
Monday, Jan. 20th." 

If so senseless a message had been given Mr. L 

by one of our world, he would, I presume, have thought 
the writer was a fool, or an ignoramus, but because 
given by a "spirit," he accepts it without question, as 
coming from Dr. Franklin. 

" My Dear Wipe : — Please for a test tell me of some 
little circumstance which happened when we were to- 
gether in life." 



316 THE INVISIBLES. 

"Answer: — 'There are many things that I could men- 
tion, and many which I will at some future time. Do 
you remember how often I have held up my finger to 
you playfully, rebuking you for being late at dinner? 
I cannot now recall these sweet little incidents, they are 
so many, darling. 

"'Estelle.'" 

One would suppose that an evasion like this would 

have excited Mr. L 's suspicions, but it seems to 

have had no such effect. 

" When you come in form, is your form which we see, 
ethereal or real substance?" 

" Answer: — 'All of earth is past. I come ethereally, 
spiritually, purified, made holy. I may have an earthly 
wish. Sometimes I wish to be with you; I wish to 
talk with you; I Avish to kiss you, to put my arm round 
your neck. You may call these earthly desires, I call 
them heavenly. 

"'ESTELLE.'" 

The answer is not very pertinent, but neither was the 

question. What Mr. L 's idea, either as to substance, 

or as to form, was, it is impossible for me to imagine. 

The following is an extract from a communication 
purporting to be also from Estelle,. the wife of Mr. 
L . 

"Our choir comprises a large number of kindred 
spirits. We ascend to a high throne, where the holy 
hold devotions. We do not see God, but we feel His 
influence. We are conscious of His invisible presence, 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 317 

as you are of ours. We hear His voice and read His 
wishes. We gather around His throne to pray for our 
loved ones on earth, and to sing praise to Him, the 
giver of all good." 

It will be observed that the above is designed to 
be understood literally, not figuratively. The "spirit" 
should have stated at about what height the throne of 
the Almighty was situated. 

I will now pass to the number of the Magazine for 
January, 1866, the correspondence published in which, 

is dated ISTovember, 1865. As Mr. L had been 

sitting frequently with Miss Fox for several years, for 
the purpose of seeing apparitions, it may be presumed 
that the beings of the other world had, by this time, 
their arrangements for producing them perfected as far 
as possible; and however erroneous the conclusions of 

Mr. L may have been, he is entitled to no little 

credit for the accuracy of his observations and descrip- 
tions of the phenomena. 

In explanation of the following letter, it is stated 

that Mr. L first met the lady (Estelle), who became 

his wife, at Baden-Baden, in the year 1851. In the 

summer of 1865, Mr. L was again at Baden-Baden, 

and happened to occupy the same room that Estelle 
occupied when he first met her. When in London, on 

his way home, Mr. L mentioned the incident to 

Mr. Coleman, who is either one of the editors of, or a 
Contributor to, the Spiritual Magazine; and Mr. Cole- 
man suggested that Mr. L should make the circum- 
stance a test as to the identity of the apparition which 
had frequently appeared to him, "with Estelle, who is in 
the other world. 
27* 



318 THE INVISIBLES. 

"New York, November 20th, 1865. 

" My dear Mr. Coleman : — You will no doubt be 
interested to learn that my first spiritual manifestation 
since my return from Europe was in my own house, in 
the presence of Dr. Gray,* and resulted in the tangible, 
real, visible presence of my wife in my own room, where 
*■ there could by no possibility have been any other per- 
sons than Dr. Gray, the medium and myself. This was 
on Friday evening, November 10th, 1865. 

"The atmosphere was moderately electrical, cold and 
overcast. The medium and Dr. Gray having called to 
see me, we determined to have a sitting in a room up- 
stairs, there being no persons in the house but the ser- 
vants, who were three flights below. The door was 
carefully locked, and after seating ourselves at the table 
in the middle of the room, I turned out the gas. In 
about fifteen minutes a spirit-light rose from the floor 
on the side of the table opposite to the medium, and 
after describing a semi-circle over and above the table 
three times consecutively, it rested upon Dr. Gray's head 
and disappeared. The medium and myself were then 
requested to stand up. Upon our doing so, the light 
again made its appearance between us and the window, 
pressing us back a little, as though to give it more 
room. Vigorous rustlings succeeded this movement, 
and the next instant the figure of my wife stood before 
us, holding a single flower in her hand, with every fea- 
ture radiant, and vividly visible. She was dressed in 
white gossamer, which enveloped her head, a transparent 
veil falling just before her right eye, but thrown back. 
The veil was subsequently removed altogether. Her 

* A well-known physician and spiritualist of New York. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 319 

dress, or robe, was carefully plaited around the neck, 
but with that exception it was loose and flowing. It 
was of thicker material than that about her head, and 
seemed to be of the texture of silk and gossamer. As 
Dr. Gray was seated during this time, (we standing 
between him and the spirit) he saw only the light and 
drapery as she came and glided away, which she did five 
or six times during a period of about three quarters of 
an hour. For some cause, unknown to me, the spirit 
could not on this occasion remain visible to me when 
Dr. Gray approached.* 

"You will perhaps remember a suggestion you made 
to me in London, that upon my return I should make 
certain interesting circumstances which occurred to me 
on the Continent, the subject of a spiritual test. I am 
happy to say that it has been done with a most satisfac- 
tory result. I had mentioned the circumstances to no 
one on this side of the ocean. At a second seance, two 
days after that which I have just described, I applied 
the test as follows: — I wrote two questions without the 
medium's knowledge. 

"The questions and answers were as follows: — 

"'My dear wife: — I desire you this morning to 
write me a woi'd about your appearance on Friday night 
last. Also, something in reference to the interesting 
circumstance now on my mind, which occurred on the 
Continent during my last visit to Europe.' 

* I infer that the "spirit" was visible five or six times during three- 
quarters of an hour, not that she was visible all that time. As the 
electrical arrangements of the "spirits" did not include Dr. Gray, he 
probably placed himself in a position which interfered with them. 



320 THE INVISIBLES. 

"Answer, (written on a card by the spirit). 

"'My dear husband: — I was most happy to come 
to you in form in our own house. It gave me joy 
greater than words can express. The next time I wish 
to wear a different dress. One entirely covered with 
violets and roses, so that you may perfectly see their 
color. I was with you at Baden-Baden, and saw your 
thoughts of me while there. I was very near you — as 
near as at the time when I there promised to be yours 
forever. I was near you when this thought came. I 
heard the echo go forth from your heart, and my spirit 
was drawn at once to your side. Sacred memories are 
attached to that place. Do you remember, dear Charles, 
how happy we both were then? Be happy now, for I 
am ever near you. 

"'ESTELLE.'" 

These are about as absurd "spiritual tests" as I ever 
heard of. The first question was not even a test as to 
whether the spirit present Friday night was then pre- 
sent, much less was it a test as to the spirit being his 
wife. As to the second question — if the spirit could 

not read Mr. L 's mind, she could not know what 

was on his mind, or what he referred to; and if she 
could read it, the matter was no test at all. Besides the 
spirit stated that she saw his thoughts at Baden-Baden, 
and heard the echo of one go forth from his heart. If 
a spirit could read his thoughts at Baden-Baden, Mr. 

L had no reason to suppose that one could not in 

New York. Yet he considered the result of the tests 
"most satisfactory." Aside from the apparitions, Mr. 
L ■ seems to have had nothing like the amount of 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 321 

evidence for believing in the presence of his wife, which 
I had for believing in the presence of my friends, when 
they were personated. 

The idea of the spirits coming in form — as though at 
other times they were without form — was, as I under- 
stand, got by the spirits from spiritualists, as were many 
other expressions used by the former. 

"Extracts from Diary. First evening: — Cold and 
clear. A bright fire was burning in the grate. I 
turned the gas down partially, but still sufficient to 
make all objects distinctly visible. I then opened the 
table about six inches in the middle, placing a large 
musical box across one side, and the table cover across 
the other, leaving an opening of about six inches square 
in the centre. After a few minutes a white fleshy hand 
rose, pointing its fingers upward through this opening. 
A snow-white envelope encircled it from the wrist 
downward. It was natural in shape, size and color. 
A few moments elapsed, when the hand again made its 
appearance, but now held a flower, which with its stem, 
was about three inches in length. I reached out my 
hand to touch it, and the instant it came in contact with 
the flower there was a snap, like the discharge of elec- 
tricity. 13y request I now turned up the gas, making 
the room fully light. The hand again rose, holding the 
flower, which it placed upon a sheet of w T hite paper 
which I had placed next the opening. I lifted the 
paper and examined the flower, which was to all appear- 
ance a lovely pink rose-bud, with green leaves. Miss 
Fox took it in her fingers and held it up for exami- 
nation. It was damp, cold and glutinous. As expres- 



322 THE INVISIBLES. 

sions of dissatisfaction from the unseen agents of this 
wonder were here manifested, she replaced the flower 
upon the paper, when the hand rose, seized and took it 
away instantly. Various flowers of different sizes, 
shapes and colors were presented. One was a small 
white flower, like a daisy. By raps it was said, 'Obey 
directions; you wither the flowers by your touch.'" 

The last incident shows how fearful the spirits were 
that some discovery would be made, that might lead to 
an understanding of their mode of operations. As the 
flowers disappeared quickly, whether touched or not, the 
reason assigned for not wishing them touched, could not 
have been the true one. 

"Second Evening. — Foggy and damp. Conditions 
unfavorable. A very fine light made its appearance, 
demonstrating, or illustrating the method of making 
the raps. The light was in the form of a cylinder, with 
its usual accompaniment of envelope. It was placed in 
my hand to test its weight. On closing the hand and 
pressing it, I found that the shell, or surface, gave way, 
and became indented. I received by visible raps, the 
following message: — 'It is true that this communion 
brings to you blessings in your daily life. Value these 
rare blessings, for there are few whose souls have been 
breathed upon by us. There is a life within a life; 
mortal and immortal; perishable and lasting. They 
walk side by side; the one is made of changes and 
cares; the other is hallowed by peace and hope; smiles 
and tears form one; eternal bliss and happiness the 
other.' " 

I don't know what Mr. L means by the state- 
ment that the method of making the raps was demon- 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 323 

strated, or by the expression "visible raps," unless the 
idea is intended to be conveyed that the raps were made 
by percussion with the cylinder described. 

If that is what he means, it is the first instance that 
has come to my knowledge, of a spiritualist having any 
other idea as to the raps, than that they were caused by 
discharges of electricity; and it is very possible that this 
may have been the idea of Mr. L . 

The communication this evening, was rather better 
than the average from the spirits; still the expression, 
"There is a life within a life. They walk side by side," 
shows an uncultivated intellect. 

"Third Evening. — Cold and clear. The spirit-light 
soon rose, divided into two, and discovered before us 
standing the beautiful spirit-form of my wife, so often 
described. She was vividly visible, but differently 
dressed from her usual style, apparently typical of some- 
thing which I did not understand. A kind of turban 
was wreathed about the head, of gossamer and gold, 
sparkling with bright points, like diamonds, her head 
resting upon her right hand. 

"After remaining visible for some time, we crossed the 
room, where she again appeared, similarly dressed. The 
shining head-dress was entirely new. After she had 
disappeared the light floated about, as answering ques- 
tions by rapid circular motions. The light then rose 
near to the ceiling, describing revolutions the reverse of 
its previous motions. At times these revolutions de- 
scribed circles of six to eight feet in diameter. I asked 
that the light might pass around us, which was imme- 
diately done with great rapidity. 

"A large roll of drawing paper was taken up during 



324 THE INVISIBLES. 

these gyrations and carried with the light. The light 
itself, as well as the envelope, was heard occasionally to 
strike against the table or ceiling, with considerable 
force, as it passed about. 

"Fourth Evening. — Cold and overcast, with threatened 
storm. Shortly after the gas was turned out heavy 
rustlings were heard, a brilliant electric light rose, and 
the well-known countenance of Dr. Franklin beamed 
upon us. No words can convey an idea of the calm, 
peaceful serenity, the dignity, the spirituality which 
shone out from that face. Although I have so often 
before seen it, yet on this occasion I was more than ever 
impressed, for his every feature was radiant. The light 
was very powerful, rendering him distinctly visible. 
He appeared in four different parts of the room, and 
each time differently draped, or dressed. My hat, which 
had been left upon the bureau, was worn by him a por- 
tion of the time, and then taken from his head in full 
view, and placed upon mine by the spirit. Immediately 
afterwards, while my hat was still upon my head, he 
was seen wearing a three-cornered hat, a ruffled shirt, 
white neckerchief without a collar, his gray hair behind 
the ears. He was enveloped in a dark robe, which 
passed down by the side of his face, partially shielding 
that side, and was drawn across his breast about six or 
eight inches below the chin. This mantle I examined 
both by sight and touch, and found that it resembled in 
fabric rather coarse dark flannel or worsted stuff. Be- 
neath this his dress was perfect, the cravat and ruffler 
were spotless white, and the vest and coat real, for I 
pulled aside the mantle with my own hand. His face 
was like the crystallization of expression, the expression 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 325 

changing during the intervals of invisibility. The 
formation being instant and temporary, no doubt lacks 
the nerves and muscles of the human physical organiza- 
tion, and hence can of necessity only exhibit one attitude, 
or phase of expression, for each crystallization (or natu- 
ralization), during which the features and expression 
are en permanence. 

" Sixth Evening* : — Atmosphere clear. A bright coal 
fire and gas burning, the latter about half turned oif. 

"Opened the table about the width of six to eight 
inches. Soon a white female hand rose through the 
opening; answered my questions by significant move- 
ments. It touched my own hand, took hold of my 
fingers, etc. I placed my handkerchief upon a large 
musical box on the table. The hand rose, grasped it, 
and carried it away. This hand was at times amorphous, 
or clumsily shaped. Again it would appear perfect, or 
more nearly so. At times the fingers were widely spread, 
seemingly stiff, and moving with difficulty; again flexi- 
ble and natural. f It was fleshy in color and to the 
touch, but unnaturally "white. I did not see it beyond 
the wrist. I had frequently, by the spirit- light, seen 
that the formation ended at the wrist. There was no 
envelope, or covering, such as generally accompanies 
these temporary formations in the spirit-light. 

' "Seventh Evening: — Weather clear and cold. At the 
conclusion of a message, a light rose from the floor, 

* I hava omitted the fifth, evening, as nothing of much interest then 
occurred. 

f Mr. L of course, supposed that he saw each time the same hand 

— that of his wife — but they were probably the artificial hands of dif- 
ferent persons, some of which had been prepared with more care than 
others. 
28 



326 THE INVISIBLES. 

discovering to us the spirit of my wife standing before 
us in all her beauty. My hat was asked for to shield 
the light. I held it with the opening towards the spirit, 
the light being shaken quickly inside the hat (by the 
spirit) threw out brilliant radiations until her face was 
radiant. A delicate veil of gossamer (white) depended 
from above her forehead, which we took in our hands 
for examination. I held it myself before her face, found 
it transparent, and of such delicate tissue that it height- 
ened her beauty, and made her seem still more ethereal. 
We now crossed the room to a sofa. The spirit said (by 
raps), ' I wish to recline on the sofa.' Loud rustlings and 
movements were heard, when we found that a sofa-pil- 
low, forming one end of the sofa, was in the process of 
being detached, and afterwards we saw it placed on end 
in the corner of the sofa, against which she was now seen 
reclining. We bent over, and examined with great care, 
her face and dress. The dress was white, a narrow 
ribbon was across her forehead, over which was a small 
white rose, a bunch of violets over her left temple, 
and a pink rose behind her ear. Her hair fell loosely, 
so that I took locks of it and placed it over the white 
robe, which I also took hold of and examined carefully. 
It was neatly trimmed with a narrow ruffle, and plaited 
in front. 

"Some very interesting experiments were made after 
she had disappeared. We stood in the middle of the 
room, the spirit-light hanging suspended in front, swing- 
ing like a pendulum. I noticed it was like a glass tube, 
or piece of crystal, about two inches in diameter, six 
inches long, and was suspended in its envelope like a 
bag. This bag was luminous some four to six inches 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 327 

above the top of the crystal, fading into a dark material. 
By my request it was placed in my hand, (on a level 
with my chest) and while I was in the act of holding it, 
a hand about two feet above took hold of the rim of 
my hat, which I had on my head ; and I noticed that 
the bag in my hand was held by the hand above. This 
light was then placed upon the rim of my hat, and 
allowed to remain there whilst I moved about the room. 
It felt solid and heavy — say from one to two pounds in 
weight. Subsequently I made a careful examination of 
the light, which at my request was placed in my hand, 
and removed again at my bidding. It was hard and 
flint-like, with the appearance of liquid electricity, or 
light flowing inside in livid corruscations. The hand 
which held the light thus suspended above, at the same 
time took off my hat, and both the light and the hat 
were raised and lowered by the same agency. I noticed 
that the envelope became coarse and dark in proportion 
to its distance from the reservoir of electrical light. 
This was made to revolve, showing that it was propelled 
by a hand invisible, but holding that portion of the bag 
which was dark. The revolutions were rapid, describing 
a circle the entire circumference of the room with such 
rapidity and effect that it seemed a continuous wheel, or 
circle of light." 

These figures, especially the drapery, were very per- 
fect, as might be expected from the time spent in pre- 
paring them. 

Mr. L 's idea as to the crystallization of Dr. 

Franklin's face is rather ludicrous. The immobility of 
the features, the refusal to exhibit except by a faint elec- 
tric light, managed by the " spirits," and the apparent 



328 THE INVISIBLES. 

caution taken even then to partially shield the face from 
observation, are what might be expected to occur if the 
figures were produced as I have stated ; and these things 
cannot be satisfactorily explained upon the supposition 

that Mr. L 's wife and Dr. Franklin were really 

seen. 

Again, if Dr. Franklin has been spending his time 
for several years in exhibiting himself, for no apparent 
object, he must now be a very different being from what 
he was when in our world ; and how utterly absurd is 

the idea that Mr. L 's wife would, when the room 

was partially lighted in the usual way, get under the 
table, and only raise her hand through a small opening. 

It is, I think, very evident that these apparitions 
were entirely different from those described in Mr. Ow- 
en's work, the accounts of which I have copied. It 
took considerable time to prepare them, and that too in 
the presence of a well-known medium ; their movements 
were very limited, and they did not vanish upon the ap- 
proach of Mr. L ; on the contrary, he felt of their 

dress, which appeared to be as substantial as our own. 
Yet his wife was never visible to him except when Miss 
Fox was present. 

Now, the theory that the "spiritual body" of an indi- 
vidual of our world can leave the " natural body" dur- 
ing the life of the latter, and instantly form for itself 
such a dress, is not only very absurd, but a contradic- 
tion of facts like the foregoing, which spiritualists have 
themselves observed ; and if "apparitions of the living" 
are hallucinations, then most " apparitions of the dead" 
are such also, for most of the latter class precisely re- 
semble those of the former; and it also follows, that the 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 329 

imaginary gifts or faculties, of "seers" and "seeresses" 
are mere delusions. 

Some of the communications to Mr. L , evince 

rather more intelligence than do most of those through 
mediums, or even through the same medium, and there 
were probably present, assisting in the deceptions, be- 
ings of a higher grade of intellectuality than the one 
controlling the medium's brain. But the communica- 
tion which I have copied, purporting to be from Dr. 
Franklin, is about as stupid as the average, and none 
of them if written by one of our world, would be 
thought to evince much talent or intellectual culture. 

It may by some be thought incredible that such be- 
ings should be able to deceive thousands of well edu- 
cated persons with false theories. 

The truth is — and this is one of the strangest parts 
of the deception — the theories have not been given by 
the " spirits," but have been formed by spiritualists, and 
as they are false, they have all, however absurd and con- 
tradictory, been confirmed by the former. 

The "spirit" claiming to be Dr. Franklin, did not 
inform Mr. L why he could not change the ex- 
pression of his countenance while he was visible, and 
therefore the latter w ; as obliged to form his own theory 
upon the subject. But it should have been evident to 

Mr. L , that if Dr. Franklin was present and able 

to communicate, if he could tell him that a battle ivas in 
the field, and that it ivould soon be victorious, then he 
could tell him why he could not change the expression 
of his countenance. And he should have known that 
if the individual pretending to be his wife was really 
her — and especially if she was accompanied by Dr. 

28 * 



330 THE INVISIBLES. 

Franklin — some satisfactory reason would be given why 
she would not appear to him when the room was lighted, 
and why, when it was, she invariably got under the 
table. 

The same remarks apply to all the phenomena — the 
"spirits" have never explained them, but have merely 
assented to the theories formed by spiritualists; and the 
latter are therefore — as might be expected — contra- 
dictory. 

One subject of vast importance — that of the ultimate 
destiny of these miserable and degraded creatures of the 
other world — I must leave untouched in the present 
work. I have as yet no very clear conception of the 
other world, having confined myself, since able to get 
truthful communications, to efforts to obtain explana- 
tions of my individual experience in this matter, and of 
the several phenomena described. Any views which I 
might express upon this point would, therefore, be mere 
theories of my own, and owing to the great difficulty in 
communicating, I am advised by my friends of the other 
world that they prefer postponing the attempt to give 
information upon this point. One important fact I 
will, however, state, namely, that the inhabitants of what 
I have called " the other world," are as strictly confined 
to this planet — viewing their world as a part of it — as 
we are. It does not seem to me probable that we are to 
be forever confined to this one planet, but as to any 
future changes which we may have to undergo, I have 
formed no definite theory; and if I had, I should not 
feel inclined to state it here, as my intention has been to 
confine myself to facts, in the present work. 



REVIEW OF OTHER NARRATIVES. 331 

I am informed by my friends of the other world, 
that they still expect to overcome the power of the 
individuals called Miss Allen and Julia, at least so far 
that they will be able to communicate without much 
difficulty. 

If this is accomplished I shall probably write another 
work upon this subject, but if not, I shall not make the 
attempt. 



THE END. 



PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINOOTT & 00. 

"Will be sent by Mail on receipt of price. 

NOVELS BY "OTJIDA." 

Chandos, 

A Novel, by "Ouida," author of "Strathmore," "Granville 
de Vigne," etc. 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00. 
Contents. 

Book First. — Chapter I. Pythias; or, Mephistopheles. II. "La 
Comete et sa Queue." III. A Prime Minister at Home. IV. The 
Queen of Lilies. V. Poesie du Beau Sexe. VI. " The Many Years 
of Pain that Taught me Art." VII. Latet Anguis in Herba. VIII. 
A Jester who hated both Prince and Palace. 

Book Second. — Chap. I. Under the Waters of Nile. II. The Dark 
Diadem. III. Butterflies on the Pin. IV. "Straight was a Path of 
Gold for Him." V. Clarencieux. VI. The Poem among the Violets. 
VII. The Poem as Women read it. VIII. In the Rose Gardens. 
IX. The Watchers for the Fall of Ilion. 

Book Third. — Chap. I. "Spes et Fortuna Valete." II. "Tout est 
perdu fors l'Honneur." III. The Love of Woman. IV. The Last 
Night among the Purples. V. The Death of the Titan. VI. "And 
the Spoilers came down." VII. The Few who were Faithful. VIII. 
The Crowd in the Cour des Princes. 

Book Fourth. — Chap. I. "Facilis Descensus Averni." II. "Where 
all Life Dies Death Lives." III. In the Net of the Retiarius. IV. 
"Sin shall not have Dominion over You." 

Book Fifth. — Chap. I. In Exile. II. In Triumph. 

Book Sixth. — Chap. I. "Primavera ! Gioventu dell' Anno !" II. 
Castalia. III. " Gioventu! Primavera della Vita !" IV. "Seigneur! 
ayez Pitie !" 

Book Seventh. — Chap. I. "Do well unto Thyself and Men will 
speak good of Thee." II. The Throne of the Exile. III. "He who 
Endures Conquers." IV. " Qui a Offense ne Pardonne Jamais." V. 
"Ne chercher qu"un R,egard, qu'une Fleur, qu'un Soleil." VI. "Nihil 
Humani a me alienum puto." VII. "Pale, comme un beau Soir 
d'Automne." VIII. " Record One Lost Soul More." 

Book Eighth. — Chap. I. The Claimant of the Porphyry Chamber. 
II. " Magister de Vivis Lapidibus." III. " To Tell of Spring Tide 
Past." IV. "To Thine Own Self be True." V. The Codes of Arthur. 
VI. "Et tu, Brute." VII. Liberta. VIII. Lex Talionis. IX. "King 
over Himself." 

Strathmore, or "Wrought by his own Hand, 

By "Ouida," author of "Chandos," "Granville de Vigne, or 
Held in Bondage," etc. 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00. 

Granville de Vigne, or Held in Bondage. 

By "Ouida," author of "Strathmore, or Wrought by his own 
Hand," "Chandos," etc. 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth, $2.00. 



The Caxton Family, 


2 vol 


My Novel, 


4 " 


What will he do with it? 


3 " 


Devereux, 


2 " 


The Last Days of rompeii, 


2 " 


Rienzi, 


2 " 


Leila Calderon, 


1 " 


Tlie Last of the Barons, 


2 " 


Harold, 


2 " 


Pilgrims of the Rhine, 


1 " 


Eugene Aram, 


2 " 



PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPItfCOTT & 00. 

"Will be sent by Mail on receipt of price. 

Bulwer's Novels. 

A New Library Edition of the Works of Sir Edward Lytton Bulwer 
12mo., in 42 vols., viz.: 

Zanoni, 2 vols. 

Pelham, 2 

The Disowned, 2 

Paul Clifford, 2 

G>>dolphin, 1 
Ernest Maltravers — First Part, 2 

Ernest Maltravers — Second Part 

(i.e. Alice), 2 

Night and Morning, 2 

Lucre tia, 2 

A Strange Story, 2 
Each work furnished separately if desired. Neat cloth, per" vol., $1.25; library style, 
$1.60; half calf, $2.50; half calf, gilt, extra, marble edges, $2.75. 

Hospital Life ; 

From November, 1861, to August, 1863. With an Introduction by 
Bishop Potter. 12mo. $1.25. 

May and December. 
A Tale of Wedded Life. By Mrs. Hubback. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. 

A Rebel "War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, 

During the entire Four Years of the existence of the Confederate 

Government. By J. B. Jones, Clerk in the War Department of 

the Government of the Confederate States. In two vols., crown 

8vo. $5.50. 

The Ladies' Guide to Perfect Beauty. 

By Alexander Walker, M.D., LL.D. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. 

Mayhew's Illustrated Horse Management. 

Embellished with more than 400 Engravings from Original Designs 
made expressly for this work. By Edward Mathew, M.R.C. V.S. 
One vol. 8vo. Cloth, $3.00. 

Mayhew's Illustrated Horse Doctor. 

With more than 400 Pictorial representations of the various dis- 
eases to which the equine race is subjected; together with the 
latest Mode of Treatment and all the requisite Prescriptions 
written in plain English. By Edward Mathew, M.R.C. V.S. 
1 vol. 8vo. Cloth, $3.00. 

Goldsmith's Complete "Works. 

Edited by James Prior. With four Vignettes engraved on steel. 
4 vols. 12mo. Cloth, $6.00; sheep, library stvle, $7.00; half 
calf, neat, $11.00; half calf, gilt, extra, $12.00. 

Adventures of Gil Bias of Santillane. 

Translated from the French of Le Sage. By T. Smollet, M.D. 
With an account of the Author's Life. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. 



PUBLICATIONS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & 00, 

Will be sent by Mail on receipt of price. 



Arabian Night's Entertainments. 

8vo. 100 engravings. $3.50. 12mo. $1.75. 

The American Gentleman's Okdde to Politeness and Fashion, 
By Henry Lunettes. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. 

At Odds. 

A Novel. By the Baroness Tautphceus. 12mo. Cloth, $1.75. 

The Sparrow Grass Papers, or Living in the Country. 
New Edition. By Frederic S. Cozzens. 12mo. $1.75. 

Libby Life. 

Experiences of a Prisoner of War in Richmond, Va., 1863-64. By 
Lieut.-Col. F. F. Cavada, U. S. V. 12mo. • Cloth, $1.50. 

Don Quixote De La Mancha, 

Complete in one vol. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. 

Dickens's Works. 

The Illustrated Library Edition. Beautifully printed in post oc- 
tavo, and carefully revised by the author. With the original 
illustrations. 



Pickwick Papers. 43 illustrations. 2 vols. 

Nicholas Nickleby. 39 illustrations. 2 vols. . 

Martin Clmzzlcwit. 40 illustrations. 2 vols. 

Old Curiosity Shop. 36 illustrations. 2 vols. . 

Barnaby Kudge. 36 illustrations. 2 vols. . 

Sketches by Boz. 39 illustrations. 1 vol. 

Oliver Twist. 24 illustrations. 1 vol. 

Dombey and Son. 39 illustrations. 2 vols. 

David Copperfield. 40 illustrations. 2 vols. 

Pictures from Italy, and American Notes. 8 illustrations. 

Bleak House. 40 illustrations. 2 vols. 

Little Dorrit. 40 illustrations. . 2 vols 

Christmas Books. 17 illustrations. 1 vol. . 
A Tale of Two Cities. 16 illustrations. 1vol. 
Great Expectations. 8 illustrations. 1 vol. 



$6.00 
6.00 
6.00 
6.00 
6.00 
3.00 
3.00 
6.00 
6.00, 
3.00 
6.00 
6.00 
3.00 
3.00 
3.00 



Dickens's "Works. 

Cheap and Uniform Edition. Handsomely printed in crown octavo, 
cloth, with frontispiece. 



Pickwick Papers, 


1vol. 


12.00 


Hard Times, and Pictures 


from 




Nicholas Nickleby, 


" 


2.00 


Italy, 


1vol. 


$1.75 


Martin Chuzzlewit, 


" 


2.00 


Oliver Twist, 




1.75 


Dombey and Son, 


" 


2.00 


Sketches bv Boz, 




1.75 


Daviil Copperfield, 


" 


2.00 


Christmas Books, 




1.75 


Bleak House, 


" 


2.00 


Great Expectations. 




1.75 


Little Dorrit, 


a 


2.00 


A Tale of Two Cities, 




1.50 


Barnaby Rudge, 


" 


2.00 


American Notes, 




1.25 


Old Curiosity Shop, 


« 


1.75 


Uncommercial Traveller, 




1.50 



Gulliver's Travels into several Eemote Nations of the "World. 
By Dean Swift. With a Life of the Author. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. 



PUBLICATIONS OP J. B. LIPPIMJOTT & CO. 

"Will be sent by Mail on receipt of price. 

LIBPINCOTT'S PRONOUNCING GAZET- 
TEER OF THE WOULD, 

OR GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. 

Revised Edition, with an Appendix containing nearly ten 
thousand new notices, and the most recent Statistical Informa- 
tion, according to the latest Census Returns, of the United 
States and Foreign Countries. 

Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer gives — 

I. — A Descriptive notice of the Countries, Islands, Rivers, 
Mountains, Cities, Towns, etc., in every part of the Globe, 
with the most Recent and Authentic Information. 

II. — The Names of all Important places, etc., both in their 
Native and Foreign Languages, with the Pronunciation 
of the same — a Feature never attempted in any other Work. 

III. — The Classical Names of all Ancient Places, so far as 
they can be accurately ascertained from the best Authori- 
ties. 

IV. — A Complete Etymological Vocabulary of Geographical 

Names. 

V. — An elaborate Introduction, explanatory of the Principles 
of Pronunciation of Names in the Danish, Dutch, French, 
German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, 
Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Welsh Lan- 
guages. 

Comprised in a volume of over two thousand three hundred 
imperial octavo pages. Price, $10.00. 

From the Hon. Horace Mann, LL.D., 

Late President of Antioch College. 

I have had your Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World before me 
for some weeks. Having long felt the necessity of a work of this 
kind, I have spent no small amount of time in examining yours. It 
seems to me so important to have a comprehensive and authentic 
gazetteer in all our colleges, academies, and schools, that I am in- 
duced in this instance to depart from my general rule in regard to 
giving recommendations. Your work has evidently been prepared 
with immense labor; and it exhibits proofs from beginning to end 
that knowledge has presided over its execution. The rising genera- 
tion will be greatly benefited, both in the accuracy and extent of 
their information, should your work be kept as a book of reference 
on the table of every professor and teacher in the country. 



, .. . ... , ,, 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




013 412 605 A 




